--- title: The 10 Top Cities for First-Time Homebuyers, According to Zillow description: While first-time homebuyers anxiously wait for mortgage rates to drop, there are plenty of affordable housing markets, according to Zillow. authors: - name: Brenden Rearick role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/brenden-rearick/ bio: Brenden Rearick is a former news reporter at Money who specialized in mortgages, real estate, and personal finance topics. education: University of Pittsburgh, BA at_money_since: 2023 articles: 133 covers: - Housing - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology former_staff: true editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2024-04-05T14:11:43.000Z' modified: '2024-04-05T14:11:43.000Z' section: Housing tags: - News word_count: 441 canonical: https://money.com/best-cities-first-time-homebuyers/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Family buying a house](https://img.money.com/2024/04/News-Markets-First-Time-Homebuying.jpg) First-time homebuyers are becoming one of the largest segments of the real estate market, making up half of all buyers in 2023. While this demographic continues to grow, though, it is forced to reckon with an expensive housing market that does not necessarily favor them. When interest rates do eventually come down from their recent record highs, it's likely to kickstart the long process of getting [mortgage rates](https://money.com/current-mortgage-rates/) back to a place where sellers are incentivized to sell and buyers are able to afford homes. But that will all be the end result of a lengthy chain reaction that the Federal Reserve has not yet set into motion. Fortunately for homebuyers, not all markets are equal. While [first-time homebuyers](https://money.com/how-to-buy-your-first-home/) anxiously wait for rates to drop, there are plenty of options for markets that offer a great bang for your buck. Real estate company Zillow recently published its list of the [best markets for starter homes](https://www.zillow.com/research/best-markets-first-time-home-buyers-33901/). The firm used several metrics to determine these top housing markets, including rent prices, inventory of affordable houses, inventory relative to renting households and density of households aged 29-42. Here are the 10 markets for first-time homebuyers in 2024, ranked by Zillow in order of their aggregate scores: 1. St. Louis, Missouri 2. Detroit, Michigan 3. Minneapolis, Minnesota 4. Indianapolis, Indiana 5. Austin, Texas 6. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 7. San Antonio, Texas 8. Birmingham, Alabama 9. Kansas City, Missouri 10. Baltimore, Maryland In a blog post, Zillow explained that the data points allowed it to rank markets based on how easy it is to navigate the buying process. Markets with low rent, for instance, help buyers save up for a [down payment](https://money.com/how-to-save-for-a-down-payment/) more quickly; the inventory metrics identify markets with a higher number of active, affordable listings and areas with more listings per renter household, providing more options; and the age metric measures the portion of households whose owners fall within Zillow's "homebuying age" of 29-42. A higher density of younger homeowners would suggest a higher success rate for first-time buyers. In sum, this means that buyers should theoretically have more buying power in these cities than anywhere else in the country. It's worth noting that Zillow's list focuses on large, urban areas rather than suburbs. In January, Realtor.com published [its own list](https://www.realtor.com/research/first-time-homebuyer-markets-2024/) of the best markets for first-time homebuyers; it highlights mostly suburban towns. However, there are similarities between the two, like the inclusion of many Midwestern and Southern markets and a lack of West Coast towns. ## Buy your new home with more convenience and less hassle ### A Mortgage Expert at Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) can lend you a hand for a smoother process. Your dream home is possible. Click below to make it happen. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/u918d32af718?ap_referrer=%2Fbest-cities-first-time-homebuyers%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/26681/medium_57f09f10-efb8-487d-a73e-5f7d605144eb.png) Imagine finally owning your dream home — Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) can help! 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