{"id":216903,"date":"2026-04-03T01:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T01:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/216903\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T01:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T01:58:10","slug":"top-10-u-s-markets-for-first-time-homebuyers-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/216903\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 U.S. markets for first-time homebuyers in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FOX Business’ Gerri Willis reports on homeowners ramping up renovations with $522 billion projected for 2026 and highlights the most popular projects on ‘Varney & Co.’<\/p>\n

A shift in the U.S. housing market<\/a> may finally be opening the door for first-time homebuyers as improving affordability and rising inventory create new opportunities across several key regions.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville, Florida, leads the list as the top market for first-time buyers this year, followed by Birmingham, Alabama; San Antonio, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and Houston, Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each of these cities is benefiting from a more favorable balance of home prices, available inventory and buyer competition, according to a new Zillow analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Zillow\u2019s rankings are based on several key factors, including rent burden, the share of affordable listings, inventory relative to renters<\/a> and the concentration of buyers in their prime homebuying years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The top 10 markets for first-time buyers in 2026 are:<\/p>\n

Jacksonville, Florida \"Aerial <\/p>\n

Jacksonville, Fla., at dusk (iStock \/ iStock)<\/p>\n

Jacksonville ranks first, with rent consuming 23.1% of income. Nearly 47.8% of listings are considered affordable, supported by relatively strong inventory at 5.9 homes per 100 renters.<\/p>\n

INSIDE AMERICA\u2019S MOST GUARDED ENCLAVE: A RARE LOOK AT FLORIDA\u2019S \u2018NO BUDGET\u2019 BILLIONAIRE BUNKER<\/a><\/p>\n

Birmingham, Alabama<\/p>\n

Birmingham stands out for affordability, with more than 55.6% of homes within reach and 6.2 listings available per 100 renters.<\/p>\n

San Antonio, Texas<\/p>\n

With a lower rent burden of 20.2% and 47.4% of listings deemed affordable, San Antonio offers a balanced entry point for buyers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Atlanta, Georgia<\/p>\n

About 45.2% of listings are affordable in Atlanta, where moderate competition is paired with steady inventory levels.<\/p>\n

PENN PROFESSOR SAYS ZILLOW ‘SYSTEMATICALLY DECEIVES CONSUMERS’ ABOUT AGENT CONNECTIONS<\/a><\/p>\n

Houston, Texas \"aerial <\/p>\n

Skyscrapers in downtown Houston, Texas (iStock \/ iStock)<\/p>\n

Houston\u2019s affordability rate sits around 40.2%, supported by a large population of buyers in their prime homebuying years.<\/p>\n

St. Louis, Missouri<\/p>\n

Affordability is a key strength in St. Louis, where 67.7% of listings fall within reach for first-time buyers.<\/p>\n

Detroit, Michigan<\/p>\n

Nearly 64.8% of homes in Detroit are affordable, combined with relatively manageable competition.<\/p>\n

MARK ZUCKERBERG AND GOOGLE’S BRIN CLOSE ON MASSIVE MIAMI ESTATES WORTH OVER $220M COMBINED<\/a><\/p>\n

Raleigh, North Carolina<\/p>\n

Raleigh benefits from a low rent burden of 18.4%, with about 48% of listings remaining affordable.<\/p>\n

Baltimore, Maryland \"Baltimore <\/p>\n

Baltimore skyline (Edwin Remsberg\/VWPics\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Approximately 61.8% of homes are affordable in Baltimore, though inventory is tighter at three listings per 100 renters.<\/p>\n

Louisville, Kentucky\u00a0<\/p>\n

Louisville rounds out the top ten, with 54.1% of listings considered affordable and a steady supply of homes.<\/p>\n

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

Mortgage rates<\/a> are still elevated, and housing inventory sits about 20% below pre-pandemic levels. Still, conditions have improved from a year ago, with more homes available and modest gains in affordability, according to Zillow.<\/p>\n

“First-time buyers are finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel,” Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow, said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Affordability is<\/a> still a challenge, but rising incomes, stabilizing prices and improving inventory are creating real opportunities in parts of the country.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FOX Business’ Gerri Willis reports on homeowners ramping up renovations with $522 billion projected for 2026 and highlights…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-216903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}