For those checking out the market to purchase new digs, some cities offer a better opportunity for first-time homebuyers than others, per WalletHub, which examined 300 US cities across nearly two dozen metrics in three major categories: affordability, the real-estate market in each city, and quality of life. The upshot of the site's findings: Florida is the place to set down roots with a mortgage, with six cities making the top 10; Palm City ranks as No. 1. Meanwhile, only two non-California cities made up the "worst cities" list in terms of buying a home: New Orleans and Anchorage, Alaska. The rest were all from the Golden State, including Berkeley, which takes the dubious honor of being the worst city in America in which to purchase a new abode for the first time. The 10 best and worst:
Best cities
- Palm City, Florida
- Boise, Idaho
- Tampa, Florida
- Surprise, Arizona (No. 1 in "Real-Estate Market" category)
- Huntsville, Alabama
- Gilbert, Arizona
- Cape Coral, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Lakeland, Florida
- Sunrise, Florida
Worst cities
- San Mateo, California
- New Orleans
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Costa Mesa, California
- Los Angeles
- Santa Barbara, California
- San Francisco
- Oakland, California (last in "Quality of Life" category)
- Santa Monica, California (last in "Affordability" category)
- Berkeley, California
See where other cities landed
here. (Residents in
these states pay the most and least for housing.)
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