Housing News

The 10 Best Housing Markets for First-Time Buyers in 2025

January 9, 2025

If you want to go from being a renter to a homeowner, you might want to focus your home search on Pennsylvania.

Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, was named the best housing market for first-time homebuyers in 2025, according to Realtor.com.

Other top markets for often cash-strapped first-time buyers were in Florida, which scored three spots in the top 10, and western New York, which had two of the top markets.

“The places highlighted offer opportunities for first timers in terms of the cost of housing, availability of homes for sale and the quality of location,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, which released the report today.

The best markets for first-time buyers offer more affordable homes for sale, a big draw for buyers who don’t have equity to pull from an existing home and use it to purchase a new one.

They also had strong economies with low unemployment rates, investment opportunity potential, plenty of things to do, lower commute times, among other things.

Only places with at least 5,000 residents and an estimated minimum of 500 homes or sale in 2025 were included.

Why is Harrisburg a top market for first-time homebuyers?

One of the main draws of Harrisburg is its relative affordability.

The Harrisburg metropolitan area had a median home list price of roughly $343,400 in December, according to the most recent Realtor.com data. That’s about $60,000 less than the national median of $402,502.

Real estate broker Joy Daniels, whose eponymous real estate brokerage focuses on central Pennsylvania, isn’t surprised that the Susquehanna River city nabbed the top spot.

“Compared with home prices in bigger cities in Pennsylvania…Harrisburg offers affordable pricing,” Daniels said. “The cost of living is lower, so you can afford a bigger home in maybe a better location.”

The median home list price was $358,075 in the Philadelphia metro area, according to Realtor.com’s December data.

The county sweetens the deal, she said, with programs that offer down payment assistance for first-time buyers.

She also noted there are good employment opportunities in the Harrison area in government, healthcare, education, and transportation. It was also named the best place in the country to retire in 2024 by U.S. News & World Report.

“There are great things to do after work,” said Daniels. “If you want more opportunities for shopping and dining, New York City, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh and Baltimore are a hop, skip and jump away.”

Other top, affordable markets for first-time homebuyers

The rest of the top markets for first-time buyers were all fairly affordable. It’s possible for buyers to purchase the typical home in these areas for 15.2% to 24.8% of their income. That’s well below the 30% recommended threshold.

Realtor.com Senior Economist Joel Berner noted that the top 10 list “skews East pretty dramatically.” Two markets in southern Florida and one in the central stretch of the Sunshine State also made the list.

“Western New York is a stronghold for affordable markets that offer perks of living in small to mid-size cities,” he said. “And Florida is a major focus of new-construction activity, which keeps the supply of homes for sale high and prices relatively low.”