An article in Forbes lists Cincinnati Ohio as the 10th most affordable places to live in the USA with an average mortgage of $1353.00 a month. Although that may be initial good news the underlying reasons should give us all pause. The low cost of homeownership is due, in part, to low construction costs, space for development, and an abundant supply of homes.

At this moment there is an opportunity for home buyers to purchase a home at a very competitive price, and with new industry moving into the Cincinnati area the addition of new jobs from companies such as Meadpace, brining new jobs to the region it is probable that the house inventory will begin to balance and home prices will stabilize moving into 2009.

Businessweek recently published a report on the top and bottom cities for specific job functions and who would have thought that Cincinnati would appear twice in the list. According to their research that looks at average pay for the job function and then takes into account the cost of living Cincinnati is the 2nd best city to live if you are a graphic artist, or a veterinary technician.

The importance of this article is that Cincinnati is a an affordable place to live for a number of different professions, in part because housing a large part of cost-of-living index. Some employers have improved relocation packages to relocating more attractive, in some cases covering the loss on a sale of a home. This is particularly valuable to those relocating from areas hit hardest by the housing slump in Florida, California, and Arizona. To find out about your city’s Cost of Living Index click here.