Charleston makes ‘Top 20 Cities for First-Time Homebuyers’ list

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Given the increasing number of obstacles first-time homebuyers face analysts say they have taken a closer look at the best cities for purchasing a first home.

SmartAsset analysts say they have judged 163 of the largest U.S. cities using 12 different metrics and found Charleston to be the 20th most desirable city for first-time home buyers.

Those 12 metrics were across four major categories including: home market favorability, affordability, livability and employment.

While first-time homebuyers have historically made up about 40% of all homebuyers nationwide, SmartAsset says that figure has dropped throughout the past decade.

Most recently, analysts say the share of first-time homebuyers fell two percentage points from 33% in 2019 to 31% in 2020. They say many researchers attributed the drop to tightening inventory and rising prices.

More about the rankings and the full report, including the methodology and key findings, can be found on SmartAsset’s website.