Fayetteville, N.C. — In a national comparison of home prices conducted by Coldwell Banker, the Fayetteville market was the third-most affordable for buyers.

The real estate company compared four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath homes across the United States. That home cost an average of $130,000 in Fayetteville in 2009. Only Grayling, Mich., and Akron, Ohio, had a cheaper average.

The survey found seven of the 10 most expensive housing markets in California. The most costly average price for the homes studied was in La Jolla, Calif., where four bedrooms cost more than $2 million.

The average price of all homes sold in the Fayetteville market in August was $137,385. While prices were up 2 percent, fewer homes changed hands last month compared to the same period last year.

In the Triangle, the average sale price dipped from $248,079 in August 2008 to $230,415 in August 2009. The number of sales was off by about 5 percent.

Statewide, the Goldsboro and Haywood County markets saw increases in the number of homes sold and the average home price compared to August 2008.