A quick glance at housing data from the U.S. census shows that the metro areas that are home to healthy technology, manufacturing, entertainment, or financial-services companies, as well as big employers like top universities, enjoy equally healthy property values.Areas such as San Jose, San Francisco, and Anaheim have buyers paying nine times their median incomes on new homes. At $744,500, the San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara (Calif.) metropolitan statistical area has the highest median home sales price in the country, according to the National Association of Realtors. The reason, says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com, is that "these local economies are among the nation's most productive. Housing values are driven by the activity on the land."
DIRT: NOT CHEAP. The median home price in the U.S., according to the National Association of Realtors, is $231,000. While San Jose is at the top, the least expensive area is Danville, Ill., where the median is an anemic $67,000.