With 14% more people becoming first-time homeowners last year compared to the previous year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Best & Worst Cities for First-Time Home Buyers, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.
To determine the most favorable housing markets for first-time buyers, WalletHub took the pulse of real estate in 300 cities of varying sizes using 22 key metrics. The data set ranges from housing affordability to real-estate tax rate to property-crime rate.
| Best Cities for First-Time Home Buyers | Worst Cities for First-Time Home Buyers |
| 1. Chesapeake, VA | 291. Boston, MA |
| 2. Gilbert, AZ | 292. Burbank, CA |
| 3. Lincoln, NE | 293. Glendale, CA |
| 4. Cape Coral, FL | 294. Santa Barbara, CA |
| 5. Boise, ID | 295. San Mateo, CA |
| 6. Hampton, VA | 296. Los Angeles, CA |
| 7. Peoria, AZ | 297. Santa Monica, CA |
| 8. Virginia Beach, VA | 298. San Francisco, CA |
| 9. Norfolk, VA | 299. Oakland, CA |
| 10. Surprise, AZ | 300. Berkeley, CA |
Best vs. Worst
- Toledo, Ohio, has the most affordable housing (median house price divided by median annual household income), with a ratio of 1.06, which is 19.1 times cheaper than in Santa Barbara, California, the city with the least affordable housing, with a ratio of 20.29.
- Honolulu has the lowest real-estate tax rate, 0.29 percent, which is 12.9 times lower than in Waterbury, Connecticut, the city with the highest at 3.74 percent.
- Rochester, New York, has the highest rent-to-price ratio, 15.88 percent, which is 4.7 times higher than in Sunnyvale, California, the city with the lowest at 3.38 percent.
- New Orleans has the lowest total home-energy cost per month, $97.27, which is 4.8 times lower than in Honolulu, the city with the highest at $470.38.
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-cities-for-first-time-home-buyers/5564
This article was released by WalletHub.