As San Antonio's real estate market struggles to find its footing, a new WalletHub analysis has revealed it is the 39th best large U.S. city for first-time homebuyers, and the No. 6 best big city in Texas.
WalletHub's study ranked 300 U.S. cities across 22 metrics based on affordability, quality of life, and the status of each city's real estate market, including factors like active listings per capita, homeownership rates for millennials, and more. Cities were ranked overall and based on population size: Large cities with more than 300,000 residents; midsize cities with populations between 150,000-300,000 people; and small cities with fewer than 150,000 people.
Palm Bay, Florida ranked as the No. 1 best housing market for first-time homebuyers regardless of city size. Meanwhile, the report determined Tampa is the best large city for first-time buyers.
San Antonio earned a favorable No. 61 rank in the report's "real estate market" category, though it didn't earn quite such stellar rankings in the quality of life (No. 216) or affordability (No. 218) categories.
The latest San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR) housing report said home sales in the city were almost flat in June, even as prices for homes continue to climb. Alamo City homesellers aren't pocketing much extra cash when they sell their homes, which may also contribute to the region's fluctuating market.
On the bright side, San Antonio has the 8th highest rate of new home construction in the nation, which should help first-time homebuyers navigate the sea of listings on the market. Additonally, the median list price for a San Antonio home came out to $291,667 at the end of May, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
In the overall rankings — regardless of city size — San Antonio landed as No. 188 best place for first-time homebuyers out of all 300 U.S. cities.
According to the National Association of Realtors, only 24 percent of all home purchases in the nation were made by first-time buyers in 2024, down from 32 percent in 2023.
"Buying a home for the first time is a very stressful and difficult process, especially when housing prices are through the roof and interest rates have risen sharply in the past few years," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "The best cities for first-time home buyers not only are affordable both in terms of buying a house and living there afterward, but they also have a lot of housing choices as well as low crime rates and good schools."
Here's how other Texas housing markets fared in the report's ranking of the best large cities for first-time homebuyers:
- No. 19 – Austin
- No. 27 – Fort Worth
- No. 31 – El Paso
- No. 37 – Corpus Christi
- No. 38 – Arlington
- No. 51 – Dallas
- No. 56 – Houston
