Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times,
A recent report by WalletHub has identified the best and worst cities for first-time homebuyers, with Palm Bay, Florida, topping the best list. Five additional Florida locations—Tampa, Cape Coral, Orlando, Lakeland, and Sunrise—are among the top 10 cities ripe for picking by first-time potential buyers.
Other cities that made the Top 10 list include Boise, Idaho; Surprise and Gilbert, Arizona; and Huntsville, Alabama.
WalletHub, a national personal finance company, prepared the report by comparing 300 cities of various sizes, using key categories of affordability, market attractiveness, and quality of life. These included factors such as real estate taxes, homeowners’ insurance costs, median home price appreciation, foreclosure rates, school systems, job market, total home energy costs, and crime rate.
A Mix of Affordability and Livability
Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst, told The Epoch Times that buying a home for the first time can be a very stressful and difficult process, especially with rising housing costs and interest rates
“While affordability did weigh heavier into this, we also looked at important quality of life considerations like the job market, school systems, and crime rates,” he said.
Based purely on affordability, Flint and Detroit, Michigan, ranked first and second, followed by Peoria and Springfield, Illinois, and Toledo, Ohio, as the top five most affordable cities. However, those locations, along with many others, had much lower quality of life scores.
“Affordability doesn’t necessarily mean desirability,” Lupo said. “In many cases, if housing is priced extremely low, there’s a reason for that.”
The report also indicated that in 2024, first-time buyers accounted for 24 percent of home purchases—a historic low—marking a decrease of 32 percent from 2023. It found that, in addition to increasing home prices and interest rates, many prospective homeowners begin their search with unrealistic expectations.
“When working with first-time home buyers, I usually suggest narrowing down the neighborhoods that fit within their price range, located close to amenities that would be used frequently and then schools with high rankings,” John Sobota, a lecturer with the Wiedner Center for Residential Property Management at University of Wisconsin, said in the report.
“When they have picked the neighborhood that meets these criteria, then I suggest buying a home in the medium price range of that neighborhood.”
Where a home is located is just as important as its features, Sobota said. An unpleasant neighborhood can ruin the experience of even a great home.
Palm Bay Leads Top 10 Best Cities
Analyzing the popularity of Florida cities for first-time homeowners, Lupo noted that the Sunshine State has always been a destination for retirees and younger families.
Palm Bay, which scored number one on the list, is located on Florida’s east coast about halfway between Coco Beach and Vero Beach. The area has a population of 142,023, with a median household income of $67,521 in 2023.
While Palm Bay ranked very high for quality of life, its affordability level is in the mid-range. However, the city does have the fifth highest millennial home-ownership rate in the country along with the third-highest home appreciation nationwide.
Boise, Idaho, took second place, due mostly to its low crime rate and highest home appreciation rate. The state’s capital city, Boise’s population is almost 238,000 with a median household income of $81,308 as of 2023.
“I think Boise has also gained popularity as many people continue to flee very expensive areas like California … they’re getting top dollar for their homes and buying bigger but less expensive ones in Idaho or Arizona,” Lupo said.
“It’s not surprising because they’re also probably getting a better quality of life.”
Elizabeth Hume, president of the Boise Regional Realtors, has lived in the city for more than 20 years. “We deal with a lot of first-time buyers here, and Boise, as well as Idaho, have several great programs available for first-time homeowners,” she told The Epoch Times.
Idaho Realtors also helped to enact the Idaho First Time Homebuyers Savings program where first-time buyers can contribute up to $15,000 individually or $30,000 per couple each calendar year. The program offers tax-free withdrawals when used for home down payments, fees, or taxes on the purchase of a single-family home in Idaho.
Hume’s clients include both out-of-state buyers and locals.
“I think what attracts people to our area is that we have four seasons, so many outdoor activities, and a very low crime rate,” she said.
“There’s so much open space with hiking and biking trails, and Boise is also very close to whitewater rafting in the summer and ski resorts in the winter.”
As of June, Hume noted that median prices of a single family home in Idaho was $580,000—much higher than the national median price of $422,800 reported in May by the National Association of Realtors.
“We do have a lot of builders coming in with buyer incentives, and in suburban Eagle, there are townhomes on the market for under $400,000,” she said.
Hume touted the fact that the region has been ranked as one of America’s safest places.
“Prices are a bit higher here but the area does offer a better quality of life—and that’s something that first-time buyers also need to consider—especially if they have young children,” she said.
Under Idaho’s LEAP Program, churches owning underutilized land are allowing the construction of homes to provide more affordable housing for those who qualify.
Oakland Scores Lowest on Quality of Life
On the opposite side of WalletHub’s report, California is home to 16 of the top 20 worst cities for first-time buyers. Berkeley was rated the worst in the nation, followed by Santa Monica, Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles.
“Most of these communities are unaffordable and many have high crime rates,” Lupo said.
Oakland had the lowest quality of life score, followed by Berkeley, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
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