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8 | TH E M R EP O RT MDWELL Best Cities for First-Time Homebuyers WalletHub identified cities where consumers' zeal for homebuying is strong and housing markets are attractive in terms of affordability, real estate, and living environment. Attracting the First- time Home Buyer Cities First-Time Buyers Are Bound to Find Most—and Least—Desirable W hen purchasing a home, consumers of- ten want to be attracted to more than just the property itself. They often look at factors such as affordability, living environment, tax rates, crime rates, or home price appreciation when shopping for a home. Richie Bernardo, a personal finance writer at WalletHub, notes the discerning nature of today's buyers, saying that, "home buyers are more skeptical than ever in the wake of the financial crisis, especially given the drastic variations in economic recovery across the U.S." WalletHub recently reviewed 300 U.S. cities to determine how attractive the homes in these cities are to first-time homebuyers. According to the report, Overland Park—the best city for first-time homebuyers—ranked at 32 in terms of housing affordability, 25th in the real estate mar- ket, and came in third place in the living environment category. On the other hand, the city of Compton, California—deemed the worst city for first-time buyers—ranked 291 in terms of housing affordability, 295th in the real estate market, and 260th in the liv- ing environment category. OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS Overland Park, Kansas was ranked the best city for first-time homebuyers, coming in 32nd in terms of housing affordability, 25th in the real estate market, and third on the living environment rank. In addition, Overland Park also has the fourth lowest home vacancy rate. ALLEN, TEXAS In second, Allen, Texas of- fers first-time homebuyers a highly attractive market with the third highest median annual income of all cities studied. Allen also has a housing affordability rank of 14th, real estate market rank of 31st, and a living environment rank of fourth. CENTENNIAL, COLORADO Centennial, Colorado offers consumers a seventh-place housing affordability market, a real estate market ranked 47th, and ninth place living environment. As an added bonus, this city also has the second lowest property crime rate. BROKEN ARROW, OKLAHOMA The city of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma came in fifth place in terms of housing affordability in this area. The Broken Arrow real estate market ranks 53rd and the living environ- ment rank was No. 30. FRISCO, TEXAS In Frisco, Texas, consum- ers can expect to shop in a real estate market ranked 32nd, enjoy the 20th most affordable housing market, and a living environment ranked 11th. The growing city also hosts the second-highest home-price appreciation values.