The housing market is tough to navigate, particularly for first-time buyers, but a new report reveals the top five metro areas for such value-conscious prospective buyers.
For those seeking affordable cities, or metropolitan areas, to put down roots, some of the best options are — no surprise — outside of such big cities as New York and the District of Columbia.
According to a report by personal-finance site Bankrate, which looked at the top 50 metro areas by population, and ranked them based on affordability, job market, market tightness, and wellness and culture, the best metro area for a first-time buyer was Austin, Texas.
“‘Austin has experienced a boom in tech jobs, and as a result themetro area’s incomes are the highest in Texas.’”
The pandemic boomtown was a favorite as many were able to work remotely with offices shuttered and working from home tolerated or even encouraged.
And “now that virtual workplaces are standard for white-collar employees, it’s possible to take your big-city income to a less expensive part of the
country,” Jeff Ostrowski, senior mortgage reporter for Bankrate, said in a statement.
“Austin has experienced a boom in tech jobs, and as a result the
metro area’s incomes are the highest in Texas,” Ostrowski said. “The city also is home to the University of Texas and a thriving music scene.”
Still, the cost of homeownership remains high with the interest rate on a typical 30-year mortgage reaching toward 7%. Indeed, the median monthly mortgage payment on the national level was $1,964, as of January, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday.
Here are there top five best metro areas for first-time buyers:
- Austin–Round Rock, Texas
- Kansas City, Mo.
- Raleigh, N.C.
- Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington, Minn.
- Jacksonville, Fla.
“Texas and Florida have been attracting an influx of new residents,” Ostrowski said. “From April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2022, the two states saw their combined populations grow by more than 1.5 million residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.”
Conversely, here are the worst five markets for home buyers:
- Washington, D.C.–Arlington–Alexandria, Va.
- Boston–Cambridge, Mass.–Nashua, N.H.
- New York–Newark, N.J.–Jersey City
- San Diego–Carlsbad, Calif.
- Riverside, Calif.–San Bernardino–Ontario
Big-city hubs like Washington, D.C.; Boston; and New York are typically known as expensive real-estate markets. The median monthly rent in New York City and Boston, for instance, was $2,024, according to Apartment List. In D.C., the median rent was $1,790.
