New report ranks Raleigh-Cary No. 1 for first-time homebuyers. But what’s the reality?
Despite the well-documented struggles facing first-time buyers in the Triangle, the region continues to earn kudos as one of best places to break into the U.S. housing market.
According to a new report from Consumer Affairs, Raleigh-Cary ranked No. 1 among 153 metros based on comparative affordability, safety, mortgage rates and home price appreciation.
As inflation, high interest rates and home prices slow home sales across the nation, the region scored fifth for “financial friendliness” and 14th for its crime rates.
“Raleigh-Cary residents benefit from the area’s exceptional greenway system, diverse arts scene, free museums — the ‘Smithsonian of the South’ — and temperate climate,” the report said.
Provo-Orem, Utah, and Naples-Macro Island, Florida, rounded out the top three.
The report’s authors said they used data from governmental and nongovernmental sources but did not identify them.
(Separately, Durham ranked as the seventh best city for adults aged 25 and under and was named a “homebuying haven” for Gen Z in last week’s Point2Homes study.)
The view on the ground
While the accolades may be rolling in, experts say significant challenges remain for many would-be buyers across the Triangle.
House prices are down from their peak in 2022 — when the median price hit $422,000 — but they remain high. Small, detached single-family homes priced under $300,000 are scarce.
A median Raleigh home price was $400,000 in December, Redfin found. That’s up 5.3% year-over-year. With today’s rates and a 20% down payment, it equates to a median monthly mortgage payment around $2,507.
In Cary, it’s even steeper.
A median Cary home price was $595,000 in December, Redfin found. That’s up 13.3% year-over-year. With today’s rates and a 20% down payment, it equates to a median monthly mortgage payment around $3,698.
That’s pushed the region’s affordability to drop 3.8% year-over-year, according to the latest data from Triangle MLS, a real estate listings platform based in Cary.
The Triangle’s median household income was only 76% of what is necessary to qualify for the median priced home.
Short supply is only adding pressure, experts say.
Currently, the region has 1.9 months’ supply, which is down 24% year-over-year. A healthy market has a four- or five-months’ supply, experts say.
Faced with dwindling supply, many first-time homeowners are increasingly turning to smaller, more affordable alternatives: townhouses or condos. They’re also expanding their search to bedroom towns like Zebulon and Knightdale further east and Pittsboro out west, where deals are more likely.
