As if that wasn’t enough of an already important decision, there are also real estate markets to consider. Fortunately, a new Zillow report released on April 4 ranked the top 10 markets for first-time home buyers based on four metrics.
To find the top 10 markets for first-time homebuyers, Zillow looked at rent affordability (defined as the share of median household income spent on rent); the ratio of available inventory for sale to renter households (more inventory per renter, for the purposes of this report, was an indicator of less competition in each census); share of households aged 29-43 (more households of a similar age, according to Zillow, meant a higher score in this category); and the proportion of availability inventory found on Zillow that the median household could comfortably afford (defined by Zillow as spending “no more than 30% of income on the estimated monthly mortgage cost”).
Based on data collected by Zillow, the most affordable market for first-time buyers St. Louis, Missouri. Affordable listings currently make up 67% of affordable listings as a percentage of total for-sale inventory, and the average household spends 20% of its median household income on rent — well below the 30% that financial experts recommend for the average person’s housing budget .
Detroit, Michigan, featured in Zillow’s report, with affordable listings accounting for 64% of the city’s inventory. Meanwhile, households aged 29 to 43 buying a home make up 24% of the city’s total households.
The third place went to him Minneapolis, Minnesotawith Indianapolis, Indiana following close behind in fourth place.
You can view the full Zillow report here.