See Where Worcester Ranks Among Best Cities for 1st Time Home Buyers

Tuesday, July 17, 2018
GoLocalWorcester News Team

How does Worcester rank for first-time home buyers?

According to a recent study completed by WalletHub, Worcester ranks 197th overall and 67th amongst mid-size cities for first time home buyers.

“Buying a home for the first time is an exciting and important milestone for many Americans. Their purchases make up a sizable chunk of the market, too. In 2017, 38% of all U.S. single-family home purchases were made by first-time buyers,” said WalletHub.

Worcester’s Rankings

• 146th Best - Affordability
• 287th Best  - Real-Estate Market
• 144th Best - Quality of Life

 

The Rankings

Worcester is ranked behind Glendale, California and Dallas, Texas, who rank 195th and 196th respectively.

Worcester is ranked ahead of Salem, Oregon and Antioch, California, who rank 198th and 199th respectively.

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma is ranked as the best city for first time home buyers.

Berkeley, California is ranked as the worst city.

See the full rankings in the map below

The Method

To determine the most favorable housing markets for first-time home buyers, WalletHub compared a sample of 300 U.S. cities (varying in size) across three key dimensions: 1) Affordability, 2) Real-Estate Market and 3) Quality of Life.

They evaluated those dimensions using 27 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for first-time home buyers.

Finally, they determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank the sample. Each city was categorized according to the following population-size guidelines:

Large cities: More than 300,000 people
Midsize cities: 150,000 to 300,000 people
Small cities: Fewer than 150,000 people

 

Affordability – Total Points: 33.33

• Housing Affordability: Triple Weight (~14.29 Points)
• Average Cost of Homeowner’s Insurance*: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Cost of Living: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Cost per Square Foot: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
• Real-Estate Tax Rate: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)

 

Real-Estate Market – Total Points: 33.33

• Rent-to-Price-Ratio: Double Weight (~4.44 Points)
• Housing-Market Health Index: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Share of Homes Sold in One Year: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Median Home-Price Appreciation: Double Weight (~4.44 Points)
• Foreclosure Rate: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Share of Mortgage Holders with Negative Equity: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Buy vs. Rent Breakeven Horizon: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Share of Listings with Price Cuts: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Share of Housing Units Built between 2010 and 2016: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Building-Permit Activity: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Mortgage Lenders per Capita: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Real Estate Agents per Capita: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Homeownership Rate for Millennials: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)

 

Quality of Life – Total Points: 33.33

• Recreation-Friendliness: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Recession Recovery: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Weather: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Quality of School System*: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Driver-Friendliness: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Job Market: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Total Home-Energy Cost: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Violent-Crime Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Property-Crime Rate: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)