Best Markets for First-Time Homebuyers
It's getting harder to find areas with a healthy balance of affordable home prices, low competition and strong growth prospects -- but our analysis found that these five stand out.

It's getting harder to find areas with a healthy balance of affordable home prices, low competition and strong growth prospects -- but our analysis found that these five stand out.
As home values continue to climb, it becomes increasingly difficult for first-time buyers to break into a market. More difficult than the monthly payments — which are often more affordable than rent these days — is saving for a down payment.
It’s getting harder to find areas with a healthy balance of affordable home prices, low competition and strong growth prospects — but our analysis found that these five stand out:
Population Growth: 1.9% |
Share of Listings With Price Cuts: 18.7% |
Zillow Home Value Index: $195,200 |
Breakeven Horizon: 1 year and 11 months |
Zillow Home Value Forecast: 3.1% |
Inventory: 13,733 homes |
Population Growth: 0.7% |
Share of Listings With Price Cuts: 16.4% |
Zillow Home Value Index: $143,200 |
Breakeven Horizon: 1 year and 7 months |
Zillow Home Value Forecast: 4.0% |
Inventory: 6,476 homes |
Population Growth: 1.7% |
Share of Listings With Price Cuts: 16.7% |
Zillow Home Value Index: $186,800 |
Breakeven Horizon: 1 year and 10 months |
Zillow Home Value Forecast: 2.7% |
Inventory: 26,275 homes |
Population Growth: 2.3% |
Share of Listings With Price Cuts: 14.9% |
Zillow Home Value Index: $216,100 |
Breakeven Horizon: 1 year and 8 months |
Zillow Home Value Forecast: 3.5% |
Inventory: 9,351 homes |
Population Growth: 2% |
Share of Listings With Price Cuts: 18.8% |
Zillow Home Value Index: $169,300 |
Breakeven Horizon: 2 years |
Zillow Home Value Forecast: 2.3% |
Inventory: 8,036 homes |
To find the best markets for first-time buyers, we weighed five metrics:
These five metrics are ordered, and metros are scored on each feature on a scale from 0 to 10. These five scores are then averaged, and the average is re-scaled to range from 0 to 10. The higher the score, the better a market is judged to be for first-time homebuyers.