Six Florida cities ranked among the top ten in a nationwide analysis that evaluated the best locations for first-time home buyers based on market attractiveness, affordability, and quality of life.
Six cities in Florida ranked among the top ten in a nationwide analysis identifying the best locations for first-time home buyers, evaluated on market attractiveness, affordability, and quality of life.
Palm Bay, Cape Coral, and Port St. Lucie ranked first, second, and third, respectively. Palm Bay topped the list with a total score of 68.91, driven by its high number of active home listings and building permits per capita, along with high rates of home value appreciation. The city has the third-highest millennial home-ownership rate, according to the report, and saw home values increase by 106 percent from 2016 to 2022.
Cape Coral, with a score of 67.32, benefited from a large number of real estate agents. The city also recorded low crime rates, ranking 16th for violent crime and 12th for property crime among the 300 cities analyzed across America. Additionally, Cape Coral’s school system is ranked ninth nationally, making it attractive for families.
Port St. Lucie scored 66.06 and holds high millennial homeownership rate of 64 percent, the second-highest in the country. It also has low crime rates, with the second-lowest property crime rate and the 12th-lowest violent crime rate. The city’s homes appreciated by 96 percent between 2016 and 2022, and it ranks 23rd in foreclosure rates.
“The best cities for first-time home buyers 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,” said Cassandra Happe, an analyst for WalletHub, the publisher of the report.
Other Florida cities in the top ten include Tampa, Orlando, and Lakeland. Tampa, ranking fourth with a score of 65.47, scored highly in the real estate market and quality of life metrics among large cities. Orlando, in fifth place with a score of 65.18, was found to have affordability in its housing market and a strong job market, while Lakeland, ranked seventh with a score of 63.21, ranked highly in quality of life and overall affordability.
Sunrise, Boca Raton, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg also performed well. Sunrise, at eleventh with a score of 60.92, was found to have good market conditions. Boca Raton, fifteenth with a score of 60.65, scored well in quality of life despite higher affordability challenges. Clearwater, sixteenth with a score of 60.51, and St. Petersburg, thirty-fifth with a score of 58.07, marked desirable living conditions and strong real estate markets.
WalletHub’s methodology included 22 key indicators of market attractiveness, affordability, and quality of life. Indicators ranged from the cost of living to real-estate taxes and crime rates. Cities were scored based on these factors and categorized by population size.