What Are The Best And Worst Metros For First-Time Homebuyers?

Purchasing a home for the first time can be a daunting task, however, a new report suggests there are metros where purchasing a home for the first time isn't so difficult. A report from LendingTree explores the best and worst metro for first-time homebuyers in terms of the ease of purchasing a home.

To create its ranking of the best and worst metros for first-time homebuyers, LendingTree explored the average down payment amount, the average down payment percentage, the share of buyers using an FHA loan, the percentage of buyers who have credit scores below 680 and the share of homeowners who spend 30% or more of their monthly income on housing costs.

According to the report, Kansas City, MO; Oklahoma. City, OK and Louisville KY are the top three first-time homebuyer-friendly metros. These states had the highest share of buyers who are using FHA loans. Additionally, Oklahoma, Kansas City and Buffalo are the metros that feature the lowest down payments with an average down payment of $33,188 between the three, close to 50% lower than the average down payment of all 50 metros in LendingTree's study.

The worst metros for first-time homebuyers will come as no shock to readers. New York, San Jose and San Francisco are the top three worst metros for first-time homebuyers with extremely high average down payment amounts and a higher number of households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing expenses. 

Read more from the report, which ranks 50 metros from the best to worst for first-time homebuyers.