Florida Dominates for First-Time Buyers
By Amy Connolly
A new WalletHub survey found Florida cities took six of the top 10 spots as the best for first-time homebuyers across metrics like crime rates and real estate taxes.
ORLANDO, Fla. – First-time homebuyers look no further. Florida has everything you need.
A new WalletHub survey found Florida is home to six of the top 10 best cities in the nation for first-time homebuyers. The survey looked at affordability, real estate and quality of life markers in 300 U.S. cities using 22 key metrics, including home prices, taxes and crime rates.
Another three Florida cities landed in the top 20. Overall, 26 Florida cities made it into the top 300.
“Buying a home for the first time is a very stressful and difficult process, especially when housing prices are through the roof and interest rates have risen sharply in the past few years. The best cities for first-time home buyers not only are affordable both in terms of buying a house and living there afterward, but they also have a lot of housing choices as well as low crime rates and good schools,” Cassandra Happe, Wallethub analyst, said.
The top 10 in affordability, real estate and quality of life markers across 300 cities:
Palm Bay
Cape Coral
Port St. Lucie
Tampa
Orlando
Surprise, AZ
Lakeland
Boise, ID
Gilbert, AZ
Henderson, NV
Sunrise, Boca Raton and Clearwater landed at 11th, 15th and 16th, respectively.
Miami Gardens was noted as having the best median home-price appreciation in the nation, and Port St. Lucie for one of the lowest rates of property crimes.
“People willing and able to invest in a house this year must balance what they want and need with what they can afford. Often, people begin searching for their dream home without a realistic idea of market prices, interest rates or even their eligibility for a mortgage. In addition, where a home is located is just as important as what features it has. If the neighborhood is unpleasant, it can sour the experience of a great home,” WalletHub said.
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