--- title: These 16 U.S. Cities Have the Lowest First-Year Homeownership Costs description: New data shows it can take anywhere from four to almost 25 years of savings just to cover the first year of home expenses. 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: '2023-08-02T14:15:34.000Z' modified: '2023-08-02T14:15:34.000Z' section: Housing tags: - News word_count: 533 canonical: https://money.com/cities-low-homeownership-costs/ 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/). ![View of Greektown in Detroit, Michigan during the day](https://img.money.com/2023/08/News-Cities-Low-First-Year-Homeownership.jpg) *Detroit, Michigan* Homeownership is notoriously expensive, especially at first: New data shows that it can take anywhere from four to almost 25 years of savings just to cover the first year of home expenses. Luckily, there are 16 markets in the 100 largest U.S. cities where you can expect to pay less than $80,000. And while [home prices refuse to budge](https://money.com/home-prices-peak-most-big-cities/) in favor of buyers, knowing which cities offer the most affordable post-closing expenses could be the deciding factor for those looking for a new place to call home. ## Don't have the 20% down? No worries! ### With an FHA loan from Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030), you can purchase your first home with a down payment as low as 3.5%. Click on your state to see if you qualify today! [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/t86655bdaa38?ap_referrer=%2Fcities-low-homeownership-costs%2F) ## What the data says A [report](https://www.point2homes.com/news/us-real-estate-news/us-cities-cheap-1st-year-of-homeownership.html) out Monday by real estate company Point2 estimates that the upfront costs of buying a home run upwards of $92,040 for a house bought at the median price of $425,674. This includes just the down payment and closing costs of the purchase. Additional recurring costs like property taxes, insurance and annual mortgage total $32,667 on average. It also finds that of the country's largest metros, [Midwestern cities have been emerging](https://money.com/top-emerging-housing-markets-spring-2023/) as more affordable markets than coastal cities in terms of home prices. The report shows that both home prices and homeownership costs are more affordable in Midwestern markets: Homeownership costs there are five times cheaper than in some of California's top cities. (Of the 15 costliest cities for first-year homeowners, 11 are in California. First-year costs in these metros range between $200,000 and $390,000.) Alternatively, of the 16 cheapest cities for first-year homeowners, half are located in the Midwest. At the top of the list is Detroit, where total costs for the first year clock in at just over $25,000. That's over 10 times cheaper than the most expensive market (San Francisco). Point2 also notes that Detroit is the only city with a median home price under $100,000. Here's the full list of the cities with first-year homeownership costs totaling under $80,000: 1. Detroit, Michigan 2. Toledo, Ohio 3. Cleveland, Ohio 4. Fort Wayne, Indiana 5. St. Louis, Missouri 6. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 7. Memphis, Tennessee 8. Wichita, Kansas 9. Tulsa, Oklahoma 10. Buffalo, New York 11. Louisville, Kentucky 12. Indianapolis, Indiana 13. Lubbock, Texas 14. Baltimore, Maryland 15. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 16. El Paso, Texas ## Bottom line The Point2 report presents more evidence that the Midwest is building momentum as perhaps the most affordable region for homebuyers. However, it's worth keeping in mind that this affordability is only relative. Nine of the 16 cities listed are back to or above their previous all-time price highs. Although they might be the most affordable places on the current market, don't expect to see a bevy of sales. The real estate industry is still racked with an [inventory problem](https://money.com/why-are-there-no-houses-for-sale/) caused largely by would-be sellers being [locked into much lower mortgage rates](https://money.com/low-mortgage-rates-trap-home-sellers/) than are currently available, leading them to stay in their homes longer. With the Federal Reserve [resuming its interest rate hikes](https://money.com/how-high-interest-rates-impact-stocks-bonds/) once again, [mortgage rates](https://money.com/current-mortgage-rates/) are likely to stay inflated as it becomes more expensive for banks to borrow money. As such, we can expect mortgage rates to remain elevated, meaning little chance of a home sales boom any time soon. ## 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=%2Fcities-low-homeownership-costs%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! [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/t39f99e0e0ab?ap_referrer=%2Fcities-low-homeownership-costs%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/cities-low-homeownership-costs/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Housing", "item": "https://money.com/housing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "These 16 U.S. Cities Have the Lowest First-Year Homeownership Costs" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/cities-low-homeownership-costs/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/cities-low-homeownership-costs/", "name": "These 16 U.S. Cities Have the Lowest First-Year Homeownership Costs", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-08-02T14:15:34.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/cities-low-homeownership-costs/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/cities-low-homeownership-costs/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2023-08-02T14:15:34.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "These 16 U.S. Cities Have the Lowest First-Year Homeownership Costs", "articleSection": "Housing", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/08/News-Cities-Low-First-Year-Homeownership.jpg", "width": 2533, "height": 1689, "caption": "News-Cities-Low-First-Year-Homeownership" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brenden Rearick", "url": "https://money.com/author/brenden-rearick/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/brenden-rearick/#author", "description": "Brenden Rearick is a former news reporter at Money who specialized in mortgages, real estate, and personal finance topics.\r\n\r\n", "email": "brenden.rearick@money.com", "alumniOf": "University of Pittsburgh, BA" } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2023-08-02T14:15:34.000Z", "description": "New data shows it can take anywhere from four to almost 25 years of savings just to cover the first year of home expenses.", "abstract": "New data shows it can take anywhere from four to almost 25 years of savings just to cover the first year of home expenses.", "@id": "https://money.com/cities-low-homeownership-costs/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2023-08-02T14:15:34.000Z", "editor": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julia Glum", "url": "https://money.com/author/julia-glum/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/julia-glum/#author", "description": "Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. 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