Three cities, three homes, one price: What $600,000 buys

A nationwide shortage of properties for sale has kept home prices climbing, and buyers will face those same challenges in the spring 2025 season.

What today's house hunters can get will vary depending on the neighborhood and how much competition there is among other potential buyers. Here's a snapshot of the housing market — particularly in Nebraska, Nevada and North Carolina — if your budget is $600,000.

The South Lake neighborhood home offers a four-car garage, a covered patio and a thoroughly modern aesthetic. The finished basement has two bedrooms, a bathroom and a family room. The property's owner also had the landscaping refreshed for prospective buyers to admire, and the new owner to enjoy, as spring settles in. That sunflower-pattern burst of the floor tile in the laundry room is reminiscent of a Nebraska field, and the walk-in pantry offers the perfect spot to stow your mixer after you've made an award-winning pie for the County Super Fair.

Five bedrooms, three bathrooms
3,551 square feet
Year built: 2022
Lot size: 0.24 acres
HOA fee: $33 a month
Parking: Four-car attached garage
Listing agent: Bob Wayne of BancWise Realty
Average area home value in Lincoln: $617,622
Check out the city

This two-story home in the Southfork non-gated master-planned community comes with a three-car garage and a backyard putting green to help you perfect your short game before you hit the region's numerous golf courses. The first-floor bedroom awaits guests, while the second-floor primary suite boasts a balcony with French doors that open to a view of the Las Vegas Strip. The home sits in the Las Vegas Valley with the McCullough Mountain range to the southeast.

Four bedrooms, three bathrooms
1,746 square feet
Year built: 2000
Lot size: 0.17 acres
HOA fee: $40 a month
Parking: Three-car attached garage
Listing agent: Meagan Tyler of GDK Realty
Average area home value: $620,059
Check out the neighborhood

The two-story home is a new build with a 50-year warranty on the siding and a 100-year one on the wide-plank wood floors. The property is a testament to the natural beauty of wood. The black-and-white tile in the primary suite shower underscores the home's sleek style, and two pantries ensure you can stock up and still keep your kitchen tidy. The property is 20 minutes from the French Broad River and a mile from Interstate 40.

Four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms
1,744 square feet
Year built: 2024
Lot size: 0.13 acres
HOA fee: $50 a month
Parking: One-car attached garage
Listing agent: Katie Prendergast of Keller Williams
Open houses: Sunday, April 6, from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Average area home value: $468,811
Check out the neighborhood

This story was updated and corrected on April 7 to say the Southfork master-planned community in Henderson, Nevada, is not gated and that the listing agent is Meagan Tyler.