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Realtor.com® Forecasts the 10 Best Markets for First-Time Homebuyers in 2025

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Homeowner Newbies Should Put Harrisburg, PA, at the Top of their Search List For first-time homebuyers, the Mid-Atlantic and Florida are the best places to kickstart their home ownership journey in 2025. That’s according to the 2025 Realtor.com® Best Markets for First-Time Homebuyers report, which ranked Harrisburg, Penn., as No. 1 followed by Rochester, N.Y., Villas, Fla., Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., Altamonte Springs, Fla., Lansing, Mich., North Little Rock, Ark., Baltimore, Tonawanda, N.Y., and Wilmington, Del. “Last year saw historically low activity for first-timers, with the group accounting for only 24% of successful homebuyers. While home prices remain high and mortgage rates are forecasted to stay above 6% throughout 2025, the year is expected to see more inventory hit the market – a silver lining for shoppers who will see more or less choice depending on where they are,” said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist, Realtor.com®. “The places highlighted offer opportunities for first timers in terms of the cost of housing, availability of homes for sale, and quality of the location. Even in these high-opportunity areas, tradeoffs likely need to be considered for buyers to get to the closing table. Choosing the best place will come down to what’s most important to each buyer and their family, and our list of places, and their qualities, is a good guide.” The Best Markets for First-Time Homebuyers in 2025 Rank Place Region 2025 Forecast25-34 Year OldHome-owner Share of House-holds 12 Month EndingNov 2024Inven-tory per1000 House-holds 12 Month EndingNov 2024Median ListingPrice 12 Month EndingNov 2024Price to IncomeRatio 2025 ForecastAverage TravelTime to Work inMinutes 2024 First-TimeHome-buyerLocation Score(out of 10) 1 Harrisburg, PA NE 20.6 % 34.8 $140,000 2.6 22 9.2 2 Rochester, NY NE 22.3 % 21.2 $129,900 2.5 21 9.2 3 Villas, Fl South 14.1 % 85.6 $236,950 3.4 26 8.0 4 Lauderdale Lakes, FL South 11.2 % 72.4 $154,850 2.7 32 7.7 5 Altamonte Springs, FL South 19.4 % 46.8 $229,400 3.6 28 7.2 6 Lansing, MI Midwest 21.4 % 42.3 $135,000 2.6 21 6.8 7 North Little Rock, AR South 17.6 % 38.5 $160,000 3.3 22 5.7 8 Baltimore, MD South 19.9 % 51.6 $210,000 3.3 32 8.6 9 Tonawanda, NY NE 14.2 % 30.2 $229,900 2.9 22 8.1 10 Wilmington, DE South 18.4 % 41.3 $222,000 4.1 25 9.7 First-time home buyers are looking to invest in a home that they feel proud to own and comfortable buying. In the annual report, Realtor.com® found the best markets that scored relatively high on factors important to folks starting their home ownership journey including affordable listings, strong local economies, lively places that are also great for growing families, and opportunities for a return on investment. Affordable HomesAt a time when national asking rents have experienced year-over-year declines for 16 straight months, first-time buyers are looking to purchase a home that makes sense financially. As a general rule of thumb, a home being purchased or rented is “affordable” if it costs 30% or less of the renter/buyer’s income each month. This rule holds true in each of the top 10 markets, ranging from 15.2% of prospective homebuyers’ income in Rochester to 24.8% in Wilmington. Additionally, all 10 of the top markets have a median listing price well below the national median of $416,880. In fact, the most expensive market is Villas, Fla., which has a median listing price of $236,950, just shy of $180,000 less than the national median. Strong Local EconomyAs one of the biggest purchases many will make in their lifetime, maintaining payments on a mortgage requires gainful employment. Each of the markets ranked in the top 10 are forecasted to have lower than national average unemployment rates in 2025. Additionally, the markets are close to major job hubs including state capitols, which is the case for Harrisburg and North Little Rock, and academic institutions and hospitals, as is the case for Rochester, Lansing, and Baltimore. Wilmington is even within commuting distance to the major city of Philadelphia. Fun for EveryoneThis year’s rank of best markets for first-time homebuyers provide options for all walks of a first-time homebuyer’s life. Daycares for growing families. Nightlife for single adults, and parents who need a night out. Prime choice groceries and shopping for all. Each of the markets have above-average location scores, though they also have their respective strengths and drawbacks across the categories. For example, foodies, shopaholics, and bar hoppers might not have many great options in Lansing and North Little Rock, though they score very well for family-friendliness, and daycares aren’t as plentiful in the Florida markets of Villas and Altamonte Springs, but are forecasted to have great price growth. Show me the ROIAs a major financial investment and pathway to home equity, the ROI of a home purchase is a big consideration especially for first-time home buyers putting their first stake in the ground during a time with high mortgage rates and listing prices. Each of the places uncovered in this year’s top 10 list are forecasted to see price growth at a rate over the national projection of 3.7%, but the three Florida markets are expected to see the largest gains; Altamonte Springs (12.1%), Villas (9.6%) and Lauderdale Lakes (9%). SOURCE Realtor.com Author admin View all posts

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However, a record low number of sellers listed their home in December Home sales activity surged across most of the Bright MLS service area in December. While transactions are still low by historic standards, the number of closed sales was much higher than in December 2023. Closed sales also increased by 4.2% from November. In December, the number of new pending contracts was also higher, with 2.1% more pending sales in December compared to 2023. The uptick in buyer interest at the end of 2024 comes even as mortgage rates remained high. In November and December, rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.75%. But at the end of 2024, rates were up to three-quarters of a percentage point lower than they were a year earlier. “Buyers have re-anchored their expectations and have come to terms with the new normal for rates,” said Dr. Lisa Sturtevant, Bright MLS Chief Economist. “Over the past year, rates have been above 7%, and even close to 8%, so buyers now think a rate in the mid-6’s is pretty good.” Sellers are still few and far between. December is typically a slow month for new listings, but 2024 was a record-breaker. There were just 11,531 new listings coming onto the market in December, which was 2.1% lower than a year earlier, and is the slowest pace of listing activity in 20 years. At the end of 2024, there was a total of 30,823 active listings available for sale. While this is an 11.7% increase over 2023, inventory is still far below pre-pandemic levels. One factor is “rate lock”—that is, the fact that current homeowners have a much lower mortgage rate than they could get on a new loan. As a result, homeowners are staying put longer. Some of the inventory logjam will be loosened in 2025. Changing family and financial circumstances will prompt more homeowners to sell their home, despite having to give up their super-low mortgage rate. In a recent nationwide survey of homeowners conducted by Bright MLS, the group most likely to sell in 2025 is younger homeowners in their 30s and 40s, and the most common reasons for selling are family or job changes. In addition to more inventory in 2025, mortgage rates will also come down, though not by much. Current projections are for mortgage rates to remain well into the mid-6’s in the first part of the year. But because people have started adjusting to the new normal, even a slight decline may be all that is needed to draw buyers into the market in the first quarter of 2025. December 2024 Mid-Atlantic Housing Market by Region Philadelphia:The Philadelphia metro area housing market ends the year with strong sales activity Baltimore:A December surge pushes annual sales totals above 2023 in the Baltimore metro area Washington, D.C.:Washington D.C. area buyers rush to close on home purchases at the end of 2024 The full Mid-Atlantic and market metro area reports are available at BrightMLS.com/MarketInsights. SOURCE Bright MLS Author admin View all posts

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REAL ESTATE INVESTOR OPTIMISM PLUMMETS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER Insurance issues join high finance costs, limited inventory and rising home prices as biggest challenges. Investors unenthusiastic about Trump proposals for higher tariffs and mass deportations. Real estate investor sentiment fell by 27 points from the prior quarter to its lowest point in a year, according to the Winter 2024 RCN Capital/CJ Patrick Company Investor Sentiment Index™. Thirty-five percent of investors viewed today’s market as better or much better than it was a year ago, compared to 68% in the third quarter, and the number of investors who felt conditions had worsened over the course of the year almost doubled, from 13% to 25%. Investors were somewhat more bullish on where the market is headed over the next six months, with 42% expecting the market to improve, while only 19% expected it to decline. However, these results were both worse than those in the previous quarter’s report, which had the highest percentage of positive responses and lowest percentage of negative responses since the inception of the RCN Capital Investor Sentiment Survey. View the full report here: https://rcncapital.com/blog/rcn-capital-investor-sentiment-index-winter-2024 The RCN Capital/CJ Patrick Company Investor Sentiment Index™ (ISI) tracks the pulse of real estate investors across the country and gauges their market outlook. The Index uses Summer 2023 (the initial survey) as its basis, and analyzes responses to four key questions: The Index score dropped from 124 in the Fall to 97 in the Winter – a point higher than last Winter’s score, but a sharp decline after four consecutive quarters of growth. Three of the four metrics in the Index showed quarter-over-quarter declines: views on the current market dropped by 22 points; outlook for the future market by 21 points; and belief that prices will continue to rise dropped by 10 points. Plans to buy properties, while still the lowest number in the index, actually improved by two points. “Rising interest rates on purchase loans and negative pressure on rent prices may have caused investor sentiment to reverse course after a year of steady improvement,” said RCN Capital CEO Jeffrey Tesch. “This particular iteration of our survey also had an unusually high percentage of respondents who were rental property investors, who tend to be less optimistic. That may have colored the results a bit.” Flippers Continue to be More Optimistic Than Rental Investors Fix-and-Flip investors were significantly more positive about market conditions than were rental property investors. Over 45% of flippers believe that market conditions have improved over the past year, and more than 48% expect things to continue to improve. Conversely, only 31% of rental property investors believe that today’s market is better than last year’s, and about 33% expect conditions to improve over the next 6 months. It’s worth noting, however, that all of these responses for both categories of investors were lower than they were in the prior quarter’s survey. Both rental property and fix-and-flip investors agree that home prices will continue to rise: 55% of all respondents, 55% of flippers, and 56% of rental investors agree. But here again, responses were somewhat muted compared to prior surveys – 35% of respondents expect prices to rise by less than 5% in the next year. And there are also notable differences in purchase plans for flippers and rental owners. Almost half of all respondents plan to buy the same number of properties in 2025 as they did in 2024. But 21% of rental investors plan to buy more properties compared to only 7% of flippers; and 45% of flippers plan to buy fewer homes compared to 33% of rental investors. Investors Skeptical About Trump Plans In the Fall survey, investors predicted a victory in November for Kamala Harris in the presidential race. This could be one of the reasons why investors were decidedly unenthusiastic about two of the major proposals promoted by the Trump campaign: increased tariffs on imported goods and the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. When asked what the impact of higher tariffs might be, investors were concerned about increased costs (51%), supply chain disruptions (48%), and reduced profit margins on flips or rental returns (45%), while 18% believed that increased tariffs wouldn’t have any impact on them. When asked about the impact of large-scale deportations, investors cited increased costs (53%), and difficulty finding skilled workers (45%). Interestingly, almost 24% of respondents said that mass deportations wouldn’t have any impact on their business. On the other hand, investors would like to see some of the housing-related ideas espoused by the Trump campaign become reality. When asked which of the President-elect’s policy proposals they’d like to see enacted, 37% said they’d like to see programs incentivizing the construction of more affordable homes; 36% cited the elimination of unnecessary regulations; 35% were interested in making unused government lands and buildings available for development; and 29% mentioned providing incentives for state and local governments to relax zoning restrictions and regulations. “While there are limits to what the Federal Government can do to improve the overall housing market, any initiatives that remove extraneous regulations, make land available for development, and stimulate affordable home construction will benefit builders, real estate professionals, investors, and consumers,” said Rick Sharga, CJ Patrick Company CEO. “An administration headed by a long-time real estate developer like Donald Trump could result in a friendlier environment for real estate investors over the next four years.” High Cost of Financing Still Cited as Biggest Challenge – Insurance a Growing Concern The high cost of financing continues to be the most frequently cited challenge by investors, as it has been since the inception of the survey, being noted by 52% of the respondents. Lack of inventory was cited 38% of the time, as were rising prices cited 36.5% of the time. Competition from investors (30%) and the cost and/or availability of insurance (23%) rounded out the top five biggest challenges. Insurance has risen as a top concern over the last few quarters as premiums have soared and insurance companies have pulled

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REI INK has partnered with the National Private Lenders Association and John Burns Research and Consulting to give you the chance to participate in a survey of fix-and-flip market conditions. We are excited to announce that those who complete the survey are now able to download FREE fix-and-flip data for up to 3 markets of their choosing, in addition to data on market conditions (sales, prices, rents, demand, supply, and affordability). Survey closes Wednesday, February 5th at 5pm PT. Click the link below or copy and paste into your browser to participate: https://jbrec.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cGAA8EgxqZY2LzM?Group=NPLA&Source=REIINK Your participation and responses are confidential. Only JBREC has access to the raw data, which is completely anonymous. None of the data can be traced back to any individual, and the survey does not collect contact information. View our certification for compliance and industry best practices. Thank you in advance for your feedback. Author admin View all posts

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Supply increased from a year earlier to close out 2024, while pending home sales posted a small decline as mortgage rates remained near 7% New listings increased 8% year over year during the four weeks ending December 29, while the total number of homes for sale rose 10%, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Redfin is taking a break from analysis this week, but please see the tables below for the latest housing-market data. Redfin will be back with full commentary next week. For Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page. Leading indicators Indicators of homebuying demand and activity Value (if applicable) Recent change Year-over-year change Source Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate 7.07% (Jan. 2) Down from 7.14% 2 weeks earlier Up from 6.7% Mortgage News Daily Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate 6.91% (week ending Jan. 2) Highest level since July Up from 6.61% Freddie Mac Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted) Down 13% from 2 weeks earlier (as of 2 weeks ending Dec. 27) Down 17% Mortgage Bankers Association Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index (seasonally adjusted) Essentially unchanged from a month earlier(as of week ending Dec. 29) Down 1% Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index a measure of tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents Touring activity Down 52% from the start of the year (as of Dec. 28) At this time last year, it was down 55% from the start of 2023 ShowingTime, a home touring technology company Google searches for “home for sale” Up 30% from a month earlier (as of Dec. 28) Down 4% Google Trends Key housing-market data U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending Dec. 29, 2024Redfin’s national metrics include data from 400+ U.S. metro areas, and is based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2015. Subject to revision. Four weeks ending Dec. 29, 2024 Year-over-year change Notes Median sale price $383,750 6.4% Biggest increase since October 2022 Median asking price $373,500 5.6% Median monthly mortgage payment $2,515 at a 6.91% mortgage rate 8.1% Pending sales 54,357 -1.1% New listings 48,705 7.7% Active listings 905,822 9.7% Months of supply 4.2 +0.5 pts. 4 to 5 months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions. Share of homes off market in two weeks 23.7% Down from 26% Median days on market 47 +6 days Share of homes sold above list price 22.9% Down from 24% Average sale-to-list price ratio 98.3% -0.1 pt. Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending Dec. 29, 2024Redfin’s metro-level data includes the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy. Metros with biggest year-over-year increases Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases Notes Median sale price Milwaukee (17.4%)Cleveland (14.3%)Philadelphia (13.5%)Chicago (11.9%)Nassau County, NY (11.8%) n/a Increased in all metros Pending sales Detroit (11.9%)Anaheim, CA (10.4%)New Brunswick, NJ (7.5%)San Francisco (7.3%)Los Angeles (4.7%) Orlando, FL (-12.4%)Houston (-9.3%)San Antonio (-9%)Fort Lauderdale, FL (-8.9%)Indianapolis (-5.8%) Increased in 16 metros New listings San Francisco (48%)Oakland, CA (36.6%)Seattle (21.6%)Virginia Beach, VA (21.6%)San Jose, CA (21.5%) San Antonio (-12.7%)Detroit (-9.5%)Austin, TX (-8.4%)Orlando, FL (-6.2%)Nassau County, NY (-4.6%) Declined in 8 metros To view the full report, including charts, please visit:https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-new-listings-rise-pending-sales-fall Author admin View all posts

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Charlotte and Phoenix are also leading metros, while Ocala (Fla.) is the No. 1 growth city for the second time in three years The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area, better known as the DFW Metroplex, is the leading U-Haul Growth Metro of 2024. Charlotte, Phoenix, Lakeland and Austin complete the top five U.S. growth metros, meaning they saw the largest net gains of U-Haul® customers taking one-way equipment into and out of metro areas last year. This marks the first year that metros have been part of the do-it-yourself moving company’s annual growth reports and rankings. The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from well over 2.5 million one-way truck, trailer and U-Box® portable moving container transactions that occur annually in the U.S. and Canada. “We are seeing unprecedented growth in the Dallas metro area, both within the city and also suburbs like McKinney, Plano and Addison,” said Sean Fullerton, U-Haul Company of South Central Dallas president. “The cost of living is also extremely reasonable throughout the whole metro. Job growth has led to wages and earnings going up, and tax breaks have led to a lot of people moving to the area.” Press release: U-Haul Ranks Top 50 Growth States of 2024 Florida boasts seven of the top 25 growth metros, with Lakeland joined by Palm Bay, Jacksonville, Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers and Daytona Beach. Texas had five metros make the cut. North Carolina had three, all in the top 14. 2024 Top 25 U-Haul Growth Metros 1. Dallas, TX 2. Charlotte, NC 3. Phoenix, AZ 4. Lakeland, FL 5. Austin, TX 6. Nashville, TN 7. Raleigh, NC 8. Palm Bay, FL 9. Houston, TX 10. Greenville, SC 11. Jacksonville, FL 12. Tampa, FL 13. Charleston, SC 14. Wilmington, NC 15. Sarasota, FL 16. Fort Myers, FL 17. Boise, ID 18. Richmond, VA 19. Bend, OR 20. Indianapolis, IN 21. Brownsville & McAllen, TX* 22. Tyler, TX 23. Daytona Beach, FL 24. Spokane, WA 25. Springdale, AR * The metro areas of McAllen and Brownsville are combined for U-Haul analytic purposes. Ocala Tops Growth Cities List U-Haul also announced its top 25 U.S. growth cities to recognize city propers (outside the leading growth metros) that are netting the most one-way U-Haul customers. Ocala tops that list for the second time after ranking first in 2022 and second in 2023. It is the fifth consecutive year a Florida destination has headlined the U-Haul growth city rankings. “There are two main reasons people are moving to Ocala,” said Brady Rome, U-Haul Company of Gainesville president. “The primary reason is cost of living, simply being that it’s lower than almost anywhere in the state. It allows housing to be a more affordable option for families packing up their U-Haul and moving to central Florida. The second reason is the job market, which remains strong with the addition of so many manufacturing jobs. The healthcare industry has also seen massive growth in the past year and is a driving force of employment. And you can’t go without mentioning Ocala is the ‘Horse Capital of the World.’ The equestrian center is huge and continues to bring people here.” The Sunshine State has five of the top 25 growth cities. Tennessee, Washington and Alabama each have three. Virginia boasts two of the top four cities, Fredericksburg and Lorton, both located within 50 miles of Washington, D.C. 2024 Top 25 U-Haul Growth Cities (city propers outside the top metros) 1. Ocala, FL 2. Fredericksburg, VA 3. Kissimmee, FL 4. Lorton, VA 5. Myrtle Beach, SC 6. College Station, TX 7. Knoxville, TN 8. Tukwila, WA 9. Johnson City, TN 10. Foley, AL 11. Spartanburg, SC 12. Auburn, AL 13. Cookeville, TN 14. Huntsville, AL 15. Clermont, FL 16. Iowa City, IA 17. Tacoma, WA 18. Port St. Lucie, FL 19. Vancouver, WA 20. Missoula, MT 21. Panama City, FL 22. Madison, WI 23. Corvallis, OR 24. Concord, NH 25. Kingman, AZ While U-Haul rankings may not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well states, metros and cities are attracting and maintaining residents. U-Haul is the authority on migration trends thanks to its expansive network that blankets all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. The geographical coverage from 23,000-plus U-Haul rental locations provides a broad overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry. Author admin View all posts