The South Has The Most Favorable Markets For First-Time Buyers

People searching for their first home aren’t typically flush with cash, so they want to find an affordable listing that isn’t super competitive to get.

Zillow says that these buyers should head south. The site ranked the 10 most (and least) favorable markets for first-time buyers, which factored in housing affordability, potential home value growth, inventory-to-supply ratios, shares of listing with prices cuts, and buy-rent breakeven points.

Of the 10 most favorable markets, Memphis, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Birmingham are squarely in the South, and Oklahoma City and San Antonio aren’t too far away.

The least favorable markets list includes pricey locations such as Boston, Seattle, Washington D.C., and the major California markets.

Less-affordable and faster-moving markets on the West Coast and in the Northeast, while potentially offering any number of other advantages including access to good jobs and world-class amenities, are less friendly to first-time home buyers.

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