Atlanta is the No. 4 market in the United States for first-time homebuyers this spring, according to a new Zillow analysis.
The listing platform ranked the 50 largest U.S. metros by metrics including rental affordability, for-sale inventory and demographics to determine the best areas to break into the housing market.
In Atlanta, renters spend a median 22.3% of their income on housing — anything less than 30% is considered affordable — allowing flexibility to save for a down payment. In the least accessible first-time markets, like New York, renters spend up to 37.1% of their income.
The city also boasts 4.3 affordable home listings per 100 renter households, with 45.2% of all listings affordable to median-income households.
Finally, the city has an above-average population of residents aged 29 to 43 — a prime homebuying cohort, Zillow said, which is an important factor for young homebuyers looking to live in a community of their peers.
“First-time buyers are finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel,” Zillow Senior Economist Orphe Divounguy said in a news release. “Affordability is still a challenge, but rising incomes, stabilizing prices and improving inventory are creating real opportunities in parts of the country.”
Divounguy added that the top markets are less competitive, offering a “clearer path to homeownership” for first-timers.
Check out the full top 10:
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Birmingham, Alabama
- San Antonio
- Atlanta
- Houston
- St. Louis
- Detroit
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Baltimore
- Louisville, Kentucky