Planning to buy your first home? Check out Upstate New York.
Realtor.com named the best markets for first-time homebuyers in 2023 on Wednesday, ranking Eggertsville, in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metro area, as No. 7 in the nation. Watervliet, in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy region, was eighth overall, and the Syracuse suburb of Mattydale was ninth.
Mattydale also tied Gloucester, N.J., as the most affordable location among the top 10 places for first-time homebuyers. The real estate website said the best markets offer an average 2022 listing price to income ratio of 3.5 for 25-to-34 year-olds, much lower than the national rate of 5.1.
Zillow similarly named Syracuse the No. 3 metro for first-time homebuyers nationwide last month, praising the area’s affordability and housing inventory.
The Realtor.com rankings are based on a number of factors, including affordability, livability, job opportunities, short commute times, places to eat and drink, the number of homes to choose from, and the age of the population. Eggertsville, Watervliet and Mattydale all have average commutes of 20-22 minutes (the national average is 30) and forecasted 25-34-year-old population shares of 12.9% to 15.9% in 2023.
“The housing market will continue to be challenging for first-time buyers in the coming year, but for those with a bit of flexibility in where they live, there are markets where young buyers can find not just a relatively affordable home, but a neighborhood that offers a mix of economic opportunity and lifestyle amenities,” Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a statement. “Affordability is always a consideration for first-time buyers, but it’s also important to make sure that you’re settling down in a location that has all the qualities that make it an enjoyable place to live – after all, you’re not just buying a house, you’re investing in a community.”
The methodology used towns with a population of at least 5,000 residents, comparing median listing prices on Realtor.com and other data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Moody’s Analytics projections of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics and County Business Patterns data.
See the top 10 real estate markets for first time homebuyers in 2023 (according to Realtor.com):
1. Portsmouth, Virginia
2. DeForest, Wisconsin
3. Windsor Locks, Connecticut
4. Gloucester City, New Jersey
5. Moore, Oklahoma
6. Magna, Utah
7. Eggertsville, N.Y.
8. Watervliet, N.Y.
9. Mattydale, N.Y.
10. Somersworth, New Hampshire
Source: NYUpstate.com
[related_posts_by_tax posts_per_page="4" format="thumbnails" image_size="full" limit_year="1"]