Soaring home prices are creating new challenges for recruiters. Asymmetric home values -- especially between the coasts and middle America -- are making it difficult to convince candidates from moderately priced regions to relocate to more expensive regions. Though there has always been an affordability gap in America, the divide is widening as surging home values in hot beds like New York and California outpace the rest of the nation. Not every market has experienced 200-300% growth in home costs these past few years. As a result, its getting harder and harder to convince candidates to accept job offers in places like DC, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia.

The severity of the affordability gap was highlighted in Coldwell Banker's annual Home Price Comparison Index (HPCI) study. Coldwell Banker analyzed housing prices for a typical home that a middle manager might buy. In other words, the study compared the average cost of a 2,200 square-foot, 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bath, two-car garage homes in several markets. Here's a sampling of average home values from the Coldwell Banker study*:

If you're a tech recruiter in Silicon Valley, where the mean price for a 4-bedroom home runs $952K to $1.2 M, how do you convince a professional from the Silicon Hills, Austin, Texas, to relocate? The mean price for the same home is Austin is $202K. The candidate from Texas simply does not have the home equity to move into a comparable home in California. Barring an extraordinary gesture from the hiring company, the candidate would have to make a major financial or lifestyle sacrifice to accept the offer in California. For most candidates, the only choice is to scale down, and this option is rarely attractive unless the job opportunity is substantial.

For make candidates, quality of life issues can make or break an offer. How do you bring a candidate from a comparatively low-value market to a high-value real estate market? There really is no best strategy. Your success will depend on how the individual candidate's financial status, career objectives, and personal goals stack up against the opportunity you are offering. As a result, you should continually assess the candidate's ability and willingness to relocate during the hiring process. In addition, keep in mind that a signed offer does not always close the deal. Offers can fall through after the papers are signed and the hard work of relocating begins. Until the candidate reports for work, keep a back up or two in mind.

Although the hot real estate market is causing a candidate drought for some recruiters, the economics of the housing sector could soon change. In a recent speech, Alan Greenspan, cautioned that the current surge in housing cannot be sustained. "The housing boom will inevitably simmer down," Greenspan said. As the housing boom loses steam, the sharp contrast in home values we are now seeing should diminish. Though there will always be an affordability gap to contend with, it will hopefully be less extreme as the market correction takes hold.

* For more details about the ColdwellBanker HPCI study, visit CNN.com:
http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/hpci_data/index.html