Recently, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) highlighted in a report that during the last 12 months, home prices in the United States had increased by 1.8%, indicating that the real estate market continues to go through a strong affordability crisis with costs reaching up to $440,660 in June.

But future or new buyers not only face higher prices, but also higher mortgage rates. According to the report from the mortgage purchasing entity, Freddie Mac, the reference 30-year mortgage rates increased from 6.43% to 6.50% at the end of the second week of July.

This has caused home buyers to position themselves at a crossroads, looking for the best options to purchase a property, which is why this week, the personal finance company WalletHub published an analysis in which it evaluates which are the best and worst cities in the US to buy a home for the first time this year.

“Buying a home for the first time is a very stressful and difficult process, especially when home prices are sky-high and interest rates have risen dramatically in recent years,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

To prepare the report, at least 300 cities in the country were analyzed with several key indicators, including: housing affordability, the real estate tax rate and the crime rate.

In this sense, Lupo highlighted that “the best cities for those who buy their first home are not only affordable both to buy it and to live there afterwards, but they also offer a wide variety of housing options, low crime rates and good schools,” he said.

The best cities to buy a first home

The worst cities to buy a first home

According to the analysis, Palm Bay, Florida, ranks first as the best city for first-time home buyers, as it is among the leading cities in the country in terms of the number of homes for sale per capita and new construction permits per capita.

"Palm Bay has the fourth highest rate of home ownership among millennials and the fourth highest rate of home appreciation in the country. Home buyers will also benefit from the low rate of property crime in Palm Bay," highlights the WalletHub analyst.