For many Americans, buying your first home feels like a rite of passage. And while rising home prices and high mortgage rates may make it more difficult to put down roots, there are still favorable markets for first-time buyers that are close to major metropolitan areas like Washington, D.C., and Cleveland, Ohio.
A recent report from Realtor.com ranks the best markets for first-time homebuyers. To determine the top markets, the report analyzed over 10,000 locations within the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., giving each a score out of 10 based on the following components:
- Affordability (25%)
- Local amenities (25%)
- Housing availability (10%)
- Young peers (10%)
- Commute quality (10%)
- Economic health (10%)
- Housing outlook (10%)
Realtor.com then determined the 10 highest-ranking markets with at least 500 active for-sale listings from December 2024 to November 2025.
Many of the markets from last year’s ranking performed well this year and remain good options for first-time buyers, including Granite City, Illinois, and Birmingham, Alabama, Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, tells CNBC Make It.
“Affordability remains good, the amenities in the cities remain good and the fact that these prices are remaining attainable for younger owners or would-be owners is really impressive,” Berner says.
On the other hand, this year’s ranking saw all Florida markets drop out of the top 10 best places for first-time homebuyers. Berner says the overall Realtor.com forecast for 2026, in terms of price and sales growth, is weak in Florida markets.
“We’re expecting a pretty slow year in 2026 in Florida,” Berner says. “Even though there are good options there, we don’t recommend those this year because we anticipate those homes actually falling in value.”
The report states that the fall in the value of Florida homes is due to softer prices and home sales projections.
“The main driver of price softness in Florida over the past several years is a growing supply of homes for sale at the same time that demand for those homes has weakened a bit,” Berner said in a 2025 report.
Rochester, N.Y., is the No. 1 market for first-time homebuyers
Rochester, New York.
Copyright Matt Kazmierski | Moment | Getty Images
Rochester, New York, ranked as the top market for first-time homebuyers with a score of 9.3. The median listing price for a home in the New York city is $139,900, which is below the national median of $399,950, according to Realtor.com.
Realtor.com forecasts that in 2026, 25- to 34-year-olds will make up 21.3% of homeowners in Rochester.
“Rochester has quite a fair share of listings on the market, so there are a lot of options for buyers,” Berner says. “It’s a nice town that is also a good place to raise a family.”
The best markets for first-time homebuyers
- Rochester, N.Y.
- Harrisburg, Pa.
- Granite City, Ill.
- Birmingham, Ala.
- North Little Rock, Ark.
- Syracuse, N.Y.
- Baltimore, Md.
- St. Louis Park, Minn.
- Pittsburgh, Pa.
- Garfield Heights, Ohio
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, ranked second among the top markets for first-time homebuyers in 2026 with a score of 9.3. The median listing price for a home in Harrisburg is $151,999.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Richard T. Nowitz | The Image Bank | Getty Images
Similar to Rochester, Berner says Harrisburg is seeing significant growth and offers options for buyers.
“They have more inventory than most places in that part of the country,” he adds.
Having so many midsize markets in the top 10, Berner says, points to the fact that these markets are becoming more popular than really big cities, but aren’t necessarily totally rural areas.
“There are a lot of opportunities for young homebuyers to be part of that trend and build up some of these cities even further with young families,” he says.
Want to get ahead at work with AI? Sign up for CNBC’s new online course, Beyond the Basics: How to Use AI to Supercharge Your Work. Learn advanced AI skills like building custom GPTs and using AI agents to boost your productivity today.
