ST. PETERSUBRG, Fla. (WFLA) — While home prices continue to rise, alongside interest rates, fuel costs, and asking rent prices, SmartAsset ranked the top 25 best places for first-time homebuyers to find a house. A Tampa Bay city hit a new rank compared to last year.
St. Pete made the list at No. 20, eking out a slot among the 181 cities SmartAsset compared.
Tampa asking rents rose 22.4%, average $2,188 per month
It was the only Florida city to make it into the top 25, though Port St. Lucie wasn’t far behind at No. 29. Cities were ranked by livability, affordability, employment opportunities, and home market favorability.
- Bellevue, Wash.
- Olathe, Kan.
- Omaha, Neb.
- Virginia Beach, Va.
- Boise, Idaho
- Nashville, Tenn.
- Grand Rapids, Mich.
- Sunnyvale, Calif.
- Huntsville, Ala.
- Denton, Texas
- Mesa, Ariz.
- Buffalo, N.Y.
- Clarksville, Tenn.
- Lincoln, Neb.
- McKinney, Texas
- Murfreesboro, Tenn.
- Savannah, Ga.
- Mesquite, Texas
- Henderson, Nev.
- St. Petersburg, Fla.
- Reno, Nev.
- Gilbert, Ariz.
- Richmond, Va.
- Lexington, Ky.
- Plano, Texas
Tampa ranked No. 66, with a high score for employment opportunities with a low unemployment rate, but low scores in livability and affordability. SmartAsset defined affordability as the rate of people under the age of 45 owning a home, the down payment to income ratio, and housing costs as a percentage of income, in addition to the effective property tax rate of a given city or market.
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For home market favorability, SmartAsset looked at the price to rent ration, as well as the five year home value appreciation and foreclosure rates.
St. Pete’s rise to No. 20 is a three point increase from the year before. In the SmartAsset 2021 survey of best cities for first-time homebuyers, St. Petersburg was only at No. 23.