Fresh off a year marked by affordability challenges, first-time homebuyers enter 2026 still braving elevated prices and mortgage rates, but knowing where to buy can make all the difference.
A new report from the Realtor.com® economists identifies the 10 best markets for first-time homebuyers in 2026, based on affordability, availability of homes, local amenities (shops, restaurants, and day care centers), economic health, and overall housing market strength. Other important factors include commute times and the presence of other young people in the community.
“Homebuying is expensive and difficult, something you will likely do only a handful of times, and your first time doing it can set you up for success down the road,” says Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner. “So choosing where to buy your first home is an essential first step toward building wealth and achieving your desired lifestyle.”
It is especially important considering that last year, the share of first-time homebuyers dropped to a record low of 21%, while their typical age climbed to an all-time high of 40 years, according to the National Association of Realtors®’ 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.
Novice buyers face many hurdles: They tend to be earlier in their careers, earn less than older buyers, and lack the advantage of existing home equity when purchasing a starter home.
Three of the four regions of the U.S. are well-represented in the ranking, led by four markets in the Northeast and three each in the Midwest and the South. The West, however, is notably absent for the second consecutive year.
“Home prices in the West are higher without proportionately higher incomes, and as for-sale home inventory has rebounded more strongly since the [COVID-19] pandemic in that region, the prospects of strong home price appreciation are more muted,” explains Berner.
“Our top 10 markets for first-time homebuyers are all located in the eastern half of the country—and with the exception of Baltimore, are far from the East Coast.”
All the cities featured on this year’s list have a median listing price below the national median of $415,000 for November 2025 and below the median for their metro area.
“All in all, these are affordable parts of affordable metros where relatively high incomes make first-home purchases a reality for younger members of the community,” says Berner.
As a rule of thumb, a home is considered affordable if the monthly mortgage payment is 30% or less of the buyer’s monthly income. At the median prices and median incomes for 25- to 34-year-olds in the 10 ranked markets, assuming a 6.25% mortgage rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage with a 10% down payment, this is the share of income a buyer would spend on a home with a median listing price.
Four of the housing markets in the 2026 ranking were also featured in last year’s report, underscoring their continued appeal to first-time homebuyers.
Rochester, NY, tops this year’s list, unseating the 2025 leader, Harrisburg, PA—now in second place— thanks to its budget-friendly home prices, strong income-based affordability, and short average commute times.
The ranking also includes cities in Illinois, Alabama, Arkansas, Maryland, Minnesota, and Ohio.
“It’s a commonly held belief that to find an affordable home, first-time buyers must search the suburbs and outlying areas of a metropolitan area,” says Berner. “Our list of top markets proves this not to be true, with six of the 10 highlighted places representing the main city proper of its metro.”
Notably, the three Florida markets featured in last year’s ranking—Villas, Lauderdale Lakes, and Altamonte Springs—dropped out of the top 10 for 2026, mostly because of lower price and home sale projections for their metros.
What makes Rochester a top first-timer market?
Home to the University of Rochester and the headquarters for major employers like Rochester Regional Health, Wegmans, Xerox, and Paychex, Rochester boasts the second-lowest median list price in the ranking, at just $139,900.
The affordable upstate New York hub also features a relatively low price-to-income ratio, with the typical listed home priced at 2.9 times the median salary of $48,617 for 25- to 34-year-olds.
Rochester’s other advantages compared to the other cities on the list include the shortest average travel time to work of just 21 minutes, and the strongest 2026 forecasted sales growth of 5.3%.
In addition, the city of Rochester offers a Home Purchase Assistance Program, which provides grants of up to $8,000 for closing cost assistance to income-eligible first-time buyers.
As a result of these conditions, 21.3% of homeowners in Rochester are projected to be aged 25 to 34 this year.
“We have everything here: change of seasons, affordable housing, jobs, great schools, and hospitals, lakes, outdoor activities,” Jeff Scofield, broker and partner at Re/Max Plus in Rochester, tells Realtor.com.
Compared to some of the larger markets, Rochester offers a lower cost of living and less traffic, he adds. But the factor that most attracts young first-time buyers to the local market is simple: “It is still affordable to buy a home.”
The broker says that many of his out-of-town entry-level buyers are medical residents at one of Rochester’s hospitals.
Single adults entering Rochester’s housing market for the first time gravitate toward condos and townhouses, while young couples and families prefer single-family homes, according to Scofield.
First-time buyers’ No. 1 must-have, says the broker, is having some money left over after closing to cover any unexpected expenses.
“Murphy’s law will dictate that something will go wrong,” says Scofield.
Other standout destinations for first-time buyers
Harrisburg, PA, last year’s leader, is the runner-up in the 2026 ranking, with a median list price of $151,999. It is followed by Granite City, IL, a top-rated Midwestern entry boasting the lowest home price of just $119,000.
Located a short drive from St. Louis, MO, Granite City has a median list price that is nearly 60% lower than that metro’s median.
A typical 25- to 34-year-old buyer earning about $62,000 would spend just 12.6% of their income on monthly mortgage payments—the lowest share among the 10 featured cities—making Granite City the most affordable market in the ranking, with a price-to-income ratio of just 1.9.
Birmingham, AL, is No. 4 on the list, with a median home price of $148,950, followed by North Little Rock AR, with $170,000.
North Little Rock is located within the Little Rock, AR, metro, which stands out for having the lowest projected 2026 unemployment rate of 3.8% among the 10 cities on the list.
Syracuse, NY, ranks sixth, with a 2026 metro forecasted price growth of 12.4%, the highest in the ranking. Baltimore, St. Louis Park, MN, Pittsburgh, and Garfield Heights, OH, complete the list.
A closer look at St. Louis Park
Located in suburban Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, MN, sits in the eighth spot on the 2026 list of top markets for first-time property buyers, with the ranking’s highest median list price of $375,000.
But Berner notes that the typical home in the suburb of 50,000 people is still priced 10% lower than the Minneapolis metro.
The typical 25- to 34-year-old homebuyer in St. Louis Park earns $98,000—the highest annual salary in the ranking—but also spends the largest share of income on housing payments, at more than 25%.
Consequently, St. Louis Park has the ranking’s highest price-to-income ratio of 3.8, making it the least affordable market on the list.
However, Kerby Skurat, lead agent with Re/Max Results, says that St. Louis Park offers a wide range of advantages to prospective buyers compared to the pricier and more hectic Minneapolis.
“St. Louis Park is kind of the best of both worlds,” Skurat tells Realtor.com. “You’re five to 10 minutes from downtown Minneapolis, but it still feels like a real neighborhood with parks, trails, coffee shops, and a strong community feel. It’s easy to get around, easy to live in, and it appeals to a wide range of people, from young professionals to growing families, because it’s convenient without feeling hectic.”
Skurat explains that St. Louis Park is one of the few places close to the city where first-time buyers can still find a mix of condos, townhomes, and smaller single-family homes at relatively pocketbook-friendly prices.
“People like that they don’t have to choose between affordability, walkability, and access to jobs,” says the agent. “St. Louis Park offers all three, which makes it a strong starter-home market.”
As a result, St. Louis Park has attracted increased interest from out-of-town buyers, especially those relocating for work or moving from more expensive markets like Chicago, Denver, and coastal metros to stretch their housing dollars.
To come up with the 2026 ranking of the best markets for first-time buyers, Realtor.com researchers scored 10,067 Census-Designated Places that are located within the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. and chose the highest-ranking 10 that had at least 500 active for-sale listings in the past 12 months.
The team scored each market based on the availability of homes for sale, the median home list price from December 2022 through November 2023, a larger percentage of younger homeowners, reasonable commute times, low unemployment rates, the amenities that the communities offer, and forecasted home sales and home prices in the year ahead.
1. Rochester, NY
Median list price: $139,900
2. Harrisburg, PA
Median list price: $151,999
3. Granite City, IL
Median list price: $119,000
4. Birmingham, AL
Median list price: $148,950
5. North Little Rock, AR
Median list price: $170,000
6. Syracuse, NY
Median list price: $169,900
7. Baltimore, MD
Median list price: $223,900
8. St. Louis Park, MN
Median list price: $375,000
9. Pittsburgh, PA
Median list price: $249,000
10. Garfield Heights, OH
Median list price: $140,000
