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‘This Old House’ releases a list of the best cities to buy a starter home. Boston’s not on it.
Due to limited inventory and a lack of land for new construction, property prices in Boston, even for starter homes, remain out of reach for many buyers.
If you’re looking to purchase a starter home in Detroit, then you’re in luck. This Old House’s Reviews Team recently released a study of the most affordable cities to buy a starter home — a first home you plan to stay in for just a few years — and Detroit topped the list, with an average starter-home price of $33,288 and a housing cost that’s just 7.3% of one’s income.
This Old House also looked at the top 10 cities to buy a starter home, based on cost and lifestyle factors, including the average cost of a starter home, mortgage payment as a percentage of income, the availability of restaurants and entertainment venues, and crime rates. Fort Wayne, Ind., topped the rankings, with an average starter home price of $124,513.
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But despite all of the lifestyle factors that draw residents to Greater Boston for its top-notch quality of life, highly ranked colleges, and robust job market, the metro didn’t make This Old House’s rankings due to the high cost of housing here.
“The median price of a starter home in Boston is more than $485,000, which is much higher than the national average,” said Stephanie Minasian-Koncewicz, senior manager, digital media, for This Old House. “Young individuals may have a particularly hard time buying a place. We found that the under-35 homeownership rate in Boston is only 16 percent, meaning that less than one in five young individuals are homeowners.”
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Indeed, due to limited inventory and a lack of land for new construction, home prices in Boston, even for starter homes, remain out of reach for many buyers.
“Boston is just a lot more expensive than the cities on the This Old House list,” said Julian Addy, a real estate agent with The Agency in Boston, who said many of his clients are expanding their search radius to consider homes outside the city. “It’s still possible to buy a home, but it’s just harder.”
Addy said buyers should consider fixer-uppers, which are usually priced lower than homes in move-in condition. Favorable financing is available through the FHA 203(k) program, which requires only 3.5% down and bundles a mortgage for both the purchase of the home and the renovations.
Buyers should consider fixer-uppers, which are usually priced lower than homes in move-in condition.
JULIAN ADDY, The Agency
“If you move outside of the city, you could obtain homeownership in the gateway cities of Massachusetts, such as Worcester, Lowell, New Bedford, or Lawrence,” said Melvin A. Vieira Jr., a real estate agent with RE/Max Destiny in Boston. Those cities offer more affordable pricing than Boston itself, with a commute of about an hour to get downtown.
Vieira said prospective buyers should also consider partnering with a friend or relative to purchase their first home, which increases their buying power and enables each party to gain equity they can parlay into a future home.
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Down payment assistance and grant programs may also be available, Vieira said, such as up to $50,000 available to qualified buyers through MassHousing.
“There are programs out there that can help you get into a home,” he said. “Don’t get discouraged.”
These were the top 10 cities to buy a starter home:
| RaNK | METRO |
|---|---|
| 1. | Fort Wayne, Ind. |
| 2. | Laredo, Texas |
| 3. | Virginia Beach, Va. |
| 4. | Oklahoma City |
| 5. | Louisville, Ky. |
| 6. | Henderson, Nev. |
| 7. | Gilbert, Ariz. |
| 8. | El Paso |
| 9. | St. Petersburg, Fla. |
| 10. | Fort Worth |
Source: Zillow, U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI
Robyn A. Friedman has been writing about real estate and the home market for more than two decades. Follow her @robynafriedman.
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