Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Oklahoma City are the best cities for first-time home buyers hoping to jump into homeownership, according to a new study released by LendingTree.
The three cities ranked on top of a new list released from LendingTree that stacked the 50 largest metros up against each other based on how friendly they are to first-time home buyers. Cities were ranked on six main factors, including down payment amount, the share of buyers using an FHA mortgage, percent of buyers who have credit scores below 680, and more.
Oklahoma City, Cleveland, and Memphis, Tenn., have the lowest overall down payments among first-time buyers of the 50 metros tracked. The average down payment in these three areas is $32,000. That is significantly lower than the average down payment for the top 50 metros, which averaged $50,000.
Cleveland, Detroit, and Birmingham, Ala., had the highest share of home buyers with credit scores below 680. “People who live in these cities can probably secure a loan with a lower credit score than they might need in some of the other cities on the list,” LendingTree notes in the study.
Overall, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Cleveland have the largest share of homes that are affordable for median income families, the study showed.
Source: “LendingTree Ranks Best Cities for First-Time Homebuyers,” LendingTree (Jan. 29, 2019)
