Buying your first home is a big decision, both personally and financially. According to WalletHub, certain cities in the U.S. are better than others when it comes to first-time homebuyers. The study looked at 300 cities using 27 key indicators of market attractiveness, affordability and quality of life. A few popular Florida cities made the cut. Coming in at number one on the list is Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. It got a total score of 67.09 when using all the factors mentioned above. It’s small town; in 2016 the population was just under 110,000.
The second place winner goes to Tampa, Florida. (However, when ranked by city size, Tampa was first!) Situated along Florida’s Gulf Coast, Tampa is a great spot for young families. The city boasts a major business center, museums, dining, nightlife and amusement parks. In addition to affordable homes, Tampa is seeing a huge condo construction boom, which should help bring even more jobs to the area. According to Zillow, the median home value in Tampa is $211,000. Home values there have gone up 13.7 percent in the past year and are expected to rise another 10.5 percent next year. The median price of homes currently listed in Tampa is $317,190 while the median price of homes that sold is $234,900.
Fairly close to Tampa, Orlando also made the list coming in at number 14. Cape Coral, Florida came in 29th. The Orlando Regional Realtor Association just released a report that show home prices in Metro Orlando have risen for seven straight years, which is great news for first time homebuyers who want to make sure to buy a home that goes up in value. Not all cities in Florida fared well. Crime rate statistics in Miami Gardens and sky-high home prices in Miami Beach contributed to their bad placement. (Miami Beach ranked at number 137 and Miami Gardens placed at 109)
Richard and Rice has a number of projects underway across Florida and we are seeing a lot of activity along the Gulf Coast and in the middle of the state. Check out our map showing all our current projects!
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