Exciting News! Philadelphia was just announced by Realtor.com as one of the top 10 markets for first-time home buyers! Out of 146 places surveyed, Philly ranked number THREE for 2014! So how did they pick the top cities? Realtor.com looked at 5 key factors: market popularity, prices, inventory, time on the market and employment to come up with their findings. Not sure what that means? That’s okay! We’ll share the explanations with you:
- Market Popularity: how hot is your location? Owners often become “move-up” buyers and invest in larger homes just a few years after their first purchase, so purchasing a home in a happening market (and a place like Philadelphia is popular AND has staying power) only increases the likelihood of making money on your first home.
- Affordability: when looking to buy your first home, it can be SUPER stressful to think about the mortgage, down payment, and all that goes along with it. So quality, lower-priced homes are often a good fit with first-time buyers. They require less of a down payment and have a lower monthly payments–good thing we have a plethora of awesome homes at reasonable, low prices in our fabulous city.
- Supply of inventory: are there enough homes on the market for the amount of people interested in purchasing them? The continual expansion of the real estate market in Philadelphia makes that a yes yes yes! If there’s a shortage in homes, bidding wars can start between investors or buyers with lots of income who can out-price first-time purchasers. So, Philly is a great place to be, given the already rich and steadily growing market.
- Time on the market: the average amount of time a home stays on the market is a great way to tell how high the demand is. If there’s super high demand, bidding wars happen more frequently and this can complicate and frustrate first-time buyers looking for the ideal starter home. So a nice range (Philadelphia has a median of 141 days on the market) allows first-time investors to have a wide range of choices and not have to worry TOO much about rushing an offer.
- Employment: last but not least, knowing you have steady employment is one of the most important aspects of deciding if you can purchase a home—are you confident you can and will make your mortgages? Pay for things that could get broken? So employment, and STEADY employment is an important factor when reviewing the appeal of a location for first-time buyers.
There’s just so much to be excited about here in the Philadelphia real estate world. It’s cheaper to purchase a home than rent, the market is growing, it’s a great spot for first-time buyers, and that doesn’t even start to tap into all the things Philly has to offer its residents. You can find the full Realtor.com article here.
