I'm not buying it. We've all heard and seen how ridiculous the Boise housing market has gotten. If that is really the case and the Boise housing market is as inflated as we think it is how is it possible that Boise is the 5th Best City For First Time Home Buyers? Are we the locals super out of touch with what's happening in America? Have we been spoiled for so long that now we think these prices are absurd? Is it us or is it everyone else that is living in a fantasy world.

Locally I hear so many people complaining about how the American Dream is not attainable yet according to a WalletHub report:

" In 2020, 40% of all U.S. single-family home purchases were made by first-time buyers, and 14% more people became first-time buyers than the previous year."

40% is a big number so clearly the American Dream of home ownership is definitely attainable but I'm not buying it... There is no way Boise is the 5th best city for first time home buyers. What do you think? See the list of top 30 markets and methodology that WalletHub used to create the list.

Methodology

To determine the most favorable housing markets for first-time home buyers, WalletHub compared a sample of 300 U.S. cities (varying in size) across three key dimensions: 1) Affordability, 2) Real-Estate Market and 3) Quality of Life.

 

Best Places for First-Time Home Buyers

Overall RankCityTotal ScoreAffordabilityReal-Estate MarketQuality of Life
1Chesapeake, VA65.1528244
2Gilbert, AZ61.9122596
3Lincoln, NE61.2989591
4Cape Coral, FL61.01112333
5Boise, ID60.6836455
6Hampton, VA60.66217229
7Peoria, AZ59.76359143
8Virginia Beach, VA59.47451313
9Norfolk, VA58.974611425
10Surprise, AZ58.872017177
11Orlando, FL58.461502101
12Chandler, AZ58.33726121
13Cedar Rapids, IA58.281410734
14Tampa, FL58.12155726
15Broken Arrow, OK57.787020128
16Raleigh, NC57.55627642
17Scottsdale, AZ57.41181851
18Kenosha, WI57.37551337
19Palm Bay, FL57.16812595
20Elgin, IL56.98926521
21Joliet, IL56.95713015
22Frisco, TX56.87231160
23Newport News, VA56.65016218
24Huntsville, AL56.542736218
25Murfreesboro, TN56.48688179
26Waukegan, IL56.23965043
27Thornton, CO56.18144802
28Naperville, IL55.897812614
29Boca Raton, FL55.851591628
30Springfield, IL55.676136163

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

The 100 Best Places to Live in the Midwest

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