01/31/2024
The 10 Very Best Cities for First-Time Homebuyers in 2024
Jan 31, 2024
For first-time homebuyers, 2023 was a bleak year marked by mortgage rates hitting a 20-year high, a persistent shortage of homes for sale, and home prices that stubbornly continued rising. As a result, many potential homebuyers have chosen to wait for the housing market to improve before starting their searches.
Now that mortgage rates are falling and the number of homes for sale has begun to rise, many would-be buyers are ready to jump back into the market. That’s why the Realtor.com® economics team identified the 10 top markets for first-time buyers in 2024. These are the towns and cities that offer more homes for sale at price ranges that many cash-constrained, first-time buyers can still afford. They also boast plenty of job opportunities, short commutes to the office, and an abundance of things to do.
“We picked these markets for their affordability and availability of listings. This makes them ideal areas for first-time homebuyers trying to break into the housing market,” says Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “Furthermore, we look for areas that already have not just a lot of young people, but a lot of younger homeowners—suggesting that these are areas where younger shoppers can have success in the housing market.”
Nearly half of these places are in the Northeast, with three in upstate New York (where home prices are a mere fraction of what they are in New York City). The others are in the South and Midwest. All are in smaller, bedroom communities outside of larger cities where affordability can make homeownership possible, whether you’re searching for a starter or forever home.
“The year ahead is expected to offer some reprieve for first-time homebuyers,” Hale says. “A projected decline in mortgage rates, which have already exceeded expectations, will help reduce the cost of taking on a mortgage while rough stability in home prices will give buyer incomes a chance to catch up.”
To come up with this list, Realtor.com ranked nearly 3,000 towns and cities. We looked at places that would be more attractive to first-time buyers based on the availability of homes for sale, median home list price from December 2022 through November 2023, a larger percentage of younger homeowners, reasonable commute times, low unemployment rates, the amenities that the communities offer, and forecasted home sales and home prices in the year ahead.
The team included only one city per metro area to maintain geographic diversity. (Metros include the main city and the surrounding suburbs, towns, and smaller urban areas.)
If you’re a first-time homebuyer, read on to see where you might want to focus your search.
1. Irondequoit, NY
Metro: Rochester, NY
Median list price: $187,000*
2. Benton, AR
Metro: Little Rock, AR
Median list price: $197,500
Situated halfway between the state capital of Little Rock and Hot Springs, Benton is the ideal
3. Winterset, IA
Metro: Des Moines, IA
Median list price: $269,400
4. Newington, CT
Metro: Hartford, CT
Median list price: $290,294
5. Council Bluffs, IA
Metro: Omaha, NE
Median list price: $200,000
6. Cheektowaga, NY
Metro: Buffalo, NY
Median list price: $199,000
7. Grand Rapids, MI
Metro: Grand Rapids, MI
Median list price: $260,000
8. Moore, OK
Metro: Oklahoma City, OK
Median list price: $231,475
9. Mattydale, NY
Metro: Syracuse, NY
Median list price: $138,450
10. Riviera Beach, MD
Metro: Baltimore, MD
Median list price: $269,079
* Median list prices are for the 12 months ending in November 2023 using Realtor.com data.
