Here’s how Raleigh ranks among US metros for first-time homebuyers
Gen Zers and millenials looking to jump into the Triangle’s housing market, here’s some encouraging news: The Raleigh metro area has been named one of the best for first-time homebuyers in the United States.
The personal finance site Bankrate ranked the nation’s 50 largest metro areas this week across four broad categories: affordability, market tightness, job market, wellness and culture — and ranked Raleigh third overall, just behind Austin and Kansas City.
Raleigh’s ranking was pulled up by its No. 1 showing in market tightness. In this category, Bankrate graded metros by how many homes were for sale compared to a year ago, and how quickly those homes sell.
In the three other categories, the Triangle region, including Durham and Chapel Hill, ranked outside the top 10. We were 22nd in affordability; 19th in job market; and tied (with Atlanta) for 17th in wellness and culture. All “still above average,” the report noted.
There are some signs of cooling after historic peaks last June. The median home price in the Triangle slid to $385,000 in January – a 2.5% drop month-over-month, according to the latest data from Triangle MLS, a Cary-based real estate listings platform. However, that’s still up 3.9% compared to the same time last year.
Inventory, meanwhile, is also on the rise. It’s a whopping 240% higher year-over-year.
“For buyers, it’s great news,” Matt Fowler, executive director of TMLS, told The N&O earlier this month. “Buyers have twice as many homes to choose from, thousands more, than in the recent past. With rates returning to a more reasonable level and choice on the rise, buyers are in better shape now than they have been in years.”
Even so, there’s still a persistent lack of affordable housing, he said. In particular, houses priced under $300,000 — what he considers a “starter home” in the Triangle — are scarce. “The supply of listings at the lower end of the price spectrum is not keeping up with demand, anywhere.”
Zoom out
The top metro for first-time homebuyers, Austin-Round Rock, Texas, scored first in job market, second in market tightness, and sixth in wellness and culture, which boosted the metro into the top overall spot, despite scoring 35th in affordability.
Perhaps just as importantly, those thinking of buying their first home ought to avoid California altogether. The metro areas for San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Jose, Riverside and San Diego all placed in the bottom 10.
New York City also had back-of-the-pack showings, while the nation’s capital ranked dead last.
Bankrate weighted affordability highest at 40%, followed by 30% weight for job market and 15% weights for market tightness, and wellness and culture. The authors used a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Labor Department, and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
This story was originally published March 1, 2023 at 7:30 AM with the headline "Here’s how Raleigh ranks among US metros for first-time homebuyers."
