First-time homebuyers grew 14% last year from 2019, according to WalletHub’s 2021’s Best & Worst Cities for First-Time Home Buyers, which breaks down the best and worst places for homebuyers to settle down.
Of the 300 metros analyzed, Chesapeake, Va., ranked as the best place in the country for first-time homebuyers and Berkeley, Calif., the worst.
How did Boston rank?
Beantown ranked as one of the worst cities for first-time homebuyers, coming in at 291 of the 300 cities the report compared. Boston ranked 291 in affordability, 281 in real estate-market attractiveness and 194th for quality of life.
Boston wasn’t the only Massachusetts city or town on the list. Seven other Massachusetts locales were ranked in the report.
Cambridge ranked slightly higher, at 286 overall, coming in at 286 in affordability, higher than Boston, but it was nearly the lowest in real estate-market attractiveness, at 299. It did, however, rank 56th in quality of life.
Quincy came in higher in the overall rankings at 230, ranking 230th in affordability, 225th in real estate-market attractiveness and 31st in quality of life.
The seaside city of New Bedford ranked 216 on the list. The Whaling City was 175th in affordability, 291st in real estate-market attractiveness and 106th in quality of life.
Neighboring Fall River ranked 208 overall, coming in 197th in affordability, 257th in market attractiveness and 93rd in quality of life.
Further north, the city of Lowell came in at 192. It was 214th in affordability, 207th in market attractiveness and 32nd for quality of life.
The city of Brockton also made the rankings, coming in at 190 overall. Brockton ranked 217th in affordability, 146th in market attractiveness and 85th in quality of life.
Springfield ranked 187th on the list, coming in at 141st for affordability, 276th in market attractiveness and 100th for quality of life.
WalletHub compared a sample of 300 U.S. cities across three dimensions focusing on affordability, the attractiveness of the real estate market and quality of life in determining the most favorable markets for first-time homebuyers.