A smart buyer is one who is ruled by her head rather than her heart. She asks herself questions like "how does this house for sale in Mississauga compare to a similarly sized house for sale in Richmond Hill?" Because as much as you think you love your house, when you find out you can't afford it in the long run, you'll wish you had taken a better look around. Oceanside, California homebuyers, let this article be your look around.

The average listing price for a home is, as of mid November 2009, in Oceanside, California, is approximately $492,000. We'll show you how this compares to other cities in America.

Other cities in California, especially around the coast, tend to hover around the same value. The difference between coastal real estate and Acton real estate in the interior can be quite pronounced, however.

Los Angeles, California: $1,210,000
Palm Springs, California: $525,000
Anaheim, California: $458,000
Sacramento, California: $289,000
Long Beach, California: $484,000
San Francisco, California: $1,129,000
Riverside, California: $282,000
San Diego, California: $680,000
Bakersfield, California: $235,000

Cities in other western states are almost all lower in real estate value, except when we get into some suburb situations. Normally Mississauga detached homes will be less expensive than Toronto, its parent, but in some cases, like Bellevue in Washington, and Scottsdale in Arizona, the suburb will be more expensive.

Seattle, Washington: $608,000
Spokane, Washington: $279,000
Portland, Oregon: $409,000
Boise, Idaho: $261,000
Salt Lake City: $353,000
Phoenix, Arizona: $280,000
Scottsdale, Arizona: $780,000
Tucson, Arizona: $325,000

Cities in central states are almost universally lower in real estate value than Oceanside because there's little to no beaches or water views, which are the primary draws for Oceanside. In some cases like with Arlington, TX houses, crime or domination by a larger city (Dallas) lowers the values further.

Albuquerque, New Mexico: $308,000
Austin, Texas: $441,000
Dallas, Texas: $524,000
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: $193,000
Denver, Colorado: $425,000
Boulder, Colorado: $892,000
Kansas City, Missouri: $224,000
Des Moines, Iowa: $149,000
Minneapolis, Minnesota: $335,000
Omaha, Nebraska: $207,000
Detroit, Michigan: $63,000
Chicago, Illinois: $436,000
Lexington, Kentucky: $273,000
Nashville, Tennessee: $318,000

Cities in eastern states are generally older, more established, and closer together than western or central cities. Like Kingston, Ont real estate, homes here have better access to industry and finance centers, and it may make them more expensive than Oceanside.

Tampa, Florida: $326,000
Atlanta, Georgia: $454,000
Raleigh, North Carolina: $343,000
Arlington, Virginia: $668,000
New York City, New York: $1,860,000
Boston, Massachusetts: $745,000
Providence, Rhode Island: $372,000
Columbus, Ohio: $167,000