Home prices have been skyrocketing across America the past few years, making many hopeful first-time homebuyers have to wait. Now, interest rates are going up, which will make it more difficult to get a loan for a mortgage, but the good news is that it should slow the market down a bit.
If you’re looking to purchase your first home, a new report has determined the U.S. cities that offer the best opportunities for first-time homebuyers. In its new study, SmartAsset compared 181 of the largest cities in the U.S. based on favorability, affordability, livability and employment. As for methodology, they collected data from the Census Bureau, the FBI, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Redfin, and used that for their analysis.
Looking through the report, Newark, New Jersey was ranked the absolute worst for first-time homebuyers. Bellevue, Washington, ranked the No. 1 best for new homebuyers.
One Michigan city made the top 10 on the list: Grand Rapids. The city ranked No. 6 on the tally. “Grand Rapids, Michigan, which ranks fifth overall for home market favorability and 25th for affordability, has one of the shortest average commute times across our study,” the study states. “On average, it takes workers just 19.4 minutes to get to work, which ranks 14th-best of all 181 cities for which we had data. Housing costs in Grand Rapids are also just 21.20% of the median household income in Grand Rapids, 16th-lowest. Meanwhile, the state of Michigan has the 13th-lowest foreclosure rate across all 50 states and the District of Columbia (0.37 per 10,000 homes).” Find the full study here.