CA Housing Markets Among Most Challenging For First-Time Buyers

First-time home buyers likely want to avoid housing markets in California.

According to a new study by LendingTree, some of the most challenging markets for first-time home buyers are in the golden state. LendingTree found that two cities in the South — Little Rock, Arkansas, and Birmingham, Alabama — are the best for anyone looking to buy their first home.

Industrial states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Indiana present good home-buying opportunities for first-time home buyers as 12 of the top 15 cities are in these states, according to LendingTree.

San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento are towards the very bottom of LendingTree’s list. The highest ranked California city on the list is Bakersfield, which was ranked 39. Every other California housing market ranked in the bottom 50, making them among the most challenging housing markets in the country for first-time shoppers.

Here’s how California cities ranked on the list:

• Bakersfield (39) (Average down payment $31,292)
• Fresno (57) (Average down payment $34,201)
• Stockton (66) (Average down payment $44,583)
• San Jose (73) (Average down payment $152,650)
• San Diego (83) (Average down payment $88,025)
• Riverside (84) (Average down payment $45,170)
• Sacramento (92) (Average down payment $55,102)
• Oxnard (94) (Average down payment $84,994)
• Los Angeles (95) (Average down payment $92,673)
• San Francisco (99) (Average down payment $128,609)

In compiling the list, LendingTree said the factors that made the housing markets favorable were average down payment amount, the share of buyers using an FHA mortgage, average down payment percentage, percentage of buyers with a credit below 680, the share of homes sold that the median income family can afford, and average FHA down payment as a percent of average down payment for all loans.

Click here to read the full study by LendingTree.

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