Surprise and Gilbert both rank in the top 10 when it comes to the best cities for first-time homebuyers, according to a report from WalletHub.
The finance website analyzed 300 cities in the United States based on affordability (including insurance costs, cost of living, cost per square foot and real estate tax rates), real estate market (including active listings per capita, median home-price appreciation, real estate agents per capita and homeownership rates) and quality of life (including weather, schools, driver-friendliness, crime rates and the job market) and found that Surprise is the sixth-best city in the country for first-timers.
Surprise’s real estate market is booming with ample, affordable inventory, making it well-suited for people looking for their first property. In fact, its real estate market ranked fourth in the country, while affordability ranked 22nd. Surprise also ranked No. 2 for first timers among small cities, meaning those with populations less than 150,000.
Gilbert ranked at No. 9 — its real estate market ranked 27th in the country and its affordability ranked 32nd, making it similarly welcoming to first-time homebuyers. Gilbert additionally ranked No. 4 among midsize cities, meaning those with populations between 150,000 and 300,000.
A number of other Phoenix-area cities ranked in the nationwide top 30, including Scottsdale at No. 12, Chandler at No. 14, Peoria at No. 18 and Mesa at No. 19.
“Buying a home for the first time is a very stressful and difficult process, especially when housing prices are through the roof and interest rates have risen sharply in the past few years,” WalletHub Analyst Cassandra Happe said in the report. “The best cities for first-time homebuyers not only are affordable both in terms of buying a house and living there afterward, but they also have a lot of housing choices as well as low crime rates and good schools.”
The top five cities on WalletHub’s list were all in Florida: Palm Bay, Cape Coral, Port St. Lucie, Tampa and Orlando. On the flip side, eight of the 10 worst cities for first-timers were located in California, with Berkeley ranking as the absolute worst.