With mortgage interest rates hitting record lows but many Americans struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2020's Best & Worst Cities for First-Time Home Buyers, as well as accompanying videos.
To determine the most favorable housing markets for first-time buyers, WalletHub took the pulse of real estate in 300 cities of varying sizes using 26 key metrics. The data set ranges from housing affordability to real-estate tax rate to property-crime rate.| Best Cities for First-Time Home Buyers | Worst Cities for First-Time Home Buyers |
| 1. Henderson, NV | 219. San Mateo, CA |
| 2. Boise, ID | 292. Miami Beach, FL |
| 3. Thornton, CO | 293. Daly City, CA |
| 4. Chesapeake, VA | 294. Los Angeles, CA |
| 5. Gilbert, AZ | 295. Oakland, CA |
| 6. Tampa, FL | 296. New York, NY |
| 7. Las Vegas, NV | 297. Detroit, MI |
| 8. North Las Vegas, NV | 298. Santa Barbara, CA |
| 9. Peoria, AZ | 299. San Francisco, CA |
| 10. Lincoln, NE | 300. Berkeley, CA |
Best vs. Worst
- Akron, Ohio, has the most affordable housing (median house price divided by median annual household income), with a ratio of 1.90, which is 7.8 times cheaper than in Berkeley, California, the city with the least affordable housing, with a ratio of 14.82.
- Honolulu has the lowest real-estate tax rate, 0.29 percent, which is 13.1 times lower than in Waterbury, Connecticut, the city with the highest at 3.79 percent.
- Rochester, New York, has the highest rent-to-price ratio, 15.88 percent, which is 4.7 times higher than in Sunnyvale, California, the city with the lowest at 3.38 percent.
- Westminster, Colorado, has the lowest total home-energy cost per month, $99.29, which is 3.9 times lower than in Honolulu, the city with the highest at $388.18.
