First-Time Home Buyers, Where is Your Sweet Spot?

Gilbert, Arizona recently earned a spot on WalletHub’s list of the Top 10 best places for first-time home buyers. I’m not exactly sure how this happened. Gilbert has been experiencing the same shortage of inventory as the the rest of the country and though it has been easing up a bit, availability is still not anywhere near where it should be, plus, prices remain on a slow but steady rise. But I do agree that home owners insurance and property taxes fall firmly into reasonable range. Having said all that, there have been quite a few newer Suburban Pocket-type neighborhoods quietly popping up all around Gilbert and these fall firmly into first-time, downsize and affordable price ranges. Residences in these districts are primarily smaller, more efficient single family homes with little or no yard space, but improved community amenities like pools, sport courts and clubhouses. They are usually located close to major highways and convenient to amenities.

Whatever WalletHub’s calculations were based on, I have no argument with their selection of Gilbert as a wise choice and the Arizona sweet-spot for any home buyer!

First-Timers: Better Chances in Colorado, Texas, and Arizona

By Suzanne De Vita

The housing market today is unprecedented, and buyers are contending with cost pressures and short supply—but, according to a recent report by WalletHub, there are cities where conditions are more favorable for first-time homeowners:

Broken Arrow, Okla.
Tampa, Fla.
Centennial, Colo.
Boise, Idaho
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Thornton, Colo.
Frisco, Texas
McKinney, Texas
Cary, N.C.
Gilbert, Ariz.

Assessing 300 cities in a sample, analysts at WalletHub based their findings on affordability, including the average cost of homeowner’s insurance and property taxes; the housing market, including appreciation and sales; and quality of life, including schools and the weather.

Broken Arrow—No. 1—is located in Tulsa County, and part of the Tulsa-Broken Arrow-Owasso metropolitan statistical area (MSA), in Eastern Oklahoma. According to the report, there is more affordable housing in the market than most, giving first-timers more options in their price range.

Distinctly, four of the top 10 cities—Broken Arrow, Centennial, Frisco and Thornton—are smaller population-wise, with less than 150,000 residents, while five are mid-size, with up to 300,000 residents. Just one—Tampa—is a major market.

Approximately 30 percent of preowned property purchases this spring were by first-time homebuyers, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).