Although soaring prices and high interest rates have deterred many first-time buyers from purchasing a home in the current real estate market, five Florida cities are proving to be the best places for first-timers, according to a new WalletHub study.
Palm Bay, Cape Coral, Tampa, Port St. Lucie, and Orlando topped the finance website’s list of best places for first-time buyers, while nine cities in California ranked last as the worst options for this buyer pool.
To determine these housing markets, WalletHub compared a sample of 300 U.S. cities of varying sizes across 22 key indicators of market attractiveness, affordability, and quality of life. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for first-time home buyers.
According to their data, the top 10 best places for first-time home buyers include:
- Palm Bay, Florida
- Cape Coral, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
- Port St. Lucie, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Surprise, Arizona
- Gilbert, Arizona
- Boise, Idaho
- Chesapeake, Virginia
- Henderson, Nevada
While the top 10 worst places for first-time buyers include:
- Berkeley, California
- Santa Monica, California
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Santa Barbara, California
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- Oakland, California
- San Mateo, California
- Burbank, California
- Daly City, California
Montgomery, Alabama; Springfield, Illinois; and Akron, Ohio, were ranked as the most affordable markets, according to the data. Berkeley, Santa Monica, and Santa Barbara had the worst affordability.
Port St. Lucie, Cape Coral, and Palm Bay had the best real estate markets, while Hartford, Connecticut; Fullerton, California; and Burbank had the toughest.
Quality of life was ranked highest in Tampa; Boca Raton, Florida; and Palm Bay and ranked the lowest in Anchorage; Lansing, Michigan; and North Charleston, South Carolina.
Check out the full data set for 2023’s Best and Worst Cities for First-Time Home Buyers at WalletHub.
