HOUSING AND COST OF LIVING

Quality, selection and affordability are terms that best describe the Region's
housing market.

* The Great Lakes Region is above average for housing affordability as
determined by the National Association of Realtors. For metropolitan areas in
the Region, the average median existing home sales price for 1989 was $11,747
below the national average.

* Existing home sales for the Great Lakes Region totaled 1,227,600 in 1988, or
30% of the national figure. New home starts amounted to 325,459.

* Seventy-four percent of the Region's population resides in single unit
housing structures.

* More than 66% of the Region's housing units are owner-occupied--higher than
the national average.

* A representative sample of large and small cities in the Region have a lower
cost of living than the national average, according to 1989 data compiled by
the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association.

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AVERAGE MEDIAN EXISTING HOME SALES PRICES (1989)

United States:      $93,095
Great Lakes Region: $81,348

Source: National Association of Realtors