Buying a first home has never been harder, but 2026 may be a year of optimism for aspiring homebuyers who put their American dream of homeownership on the back burner in recent years. Mortgage rates have cooled off, purchase applications are ticking up, and buyers are gaining the upper hand in most metro areas.
Where are first-time homeowners getting their foot in the door? What income do you need to buy your first home and where do homeowners need to be more vigilant about the condition of the home they’re buying? This report analyzed FHA loans originated from Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data from 2025, the most recently available, across 150 of the most populous U.S. metro areas to explore first-time homeowner activity.
Key Findings:
- First-time homebuyers borrowed 3.3x their income to own their first home, with a median income of $92,000 and a median home loan of $305,000.
- Nationally, first-time homebuyers under the age of 35 make up just 9% of all buyers, flat from the previous year.
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX metro area has the highest rate of first-time home buyers across 150 metro areas analyzed, where 54% of home buyers were first-time homeowners.
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area has the lowest rate of first-time buyers: just 3% of home purchases were from first-time homeowners.
- Fayetteville, NC saw the biggest gain in first-time homeowners (+78%) from the previous year, followed by the Myrtle Beach metro area (+57%), and Asheville, NC (+50%).
- Wilmington, NC metro area saw the biggest drop in first-time homeowners (-63%) followed by the Providence-Warwick, RI metro area (-33%).
Top 10 Metros For First-Time Homeowners
When we analyzed all FHA loans originated out of the total of all home loans, we found some standouts among metro areas for first-time homeownership, mostly in Florida and Texas.
| Rank | Metro Area | FHA as % of Total Home Loans | Avg Loan-to-Income Ratio | Median Income of FHA Borrowers | Median Loan Amount |
| 1 | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 54.2% | 2.8 | $89,000 | $245,000 |
| 2 | Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 51.2% | 3.6 | $86,000 | $305,000 |
| 3 | Visalia, CA | 45.5% | 3.7 | $100,000 | $375,000 |
| 4 | Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 45.1% | 2.5 | $91,000 | $225,000 |
| 5 | Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | 44.9% | 3.1 | $89,000 | $245,000 |
| 6 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 40.3% | 3.6 | $102,000 | $375,000 |
| 7 | Mobile, AL | 39.7% | 3 | $74,000 | $225,000 |
| 8 | El Paso, TX | 39.1% | 3 | $85,000 | $255,000 |
| 9 | Corpus Christi, TX | 38.0% | 2.8 | $93,000 | $255,000 |
| 10 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | 36.7% | 3.6 | $88,000 | $325,000 |
The McAllen-Edinburgh-Mission metro area in Texas rose to the number one spot for first-time homebuyers, seeing a 14% increase in first-time buyers from the previous year. The Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area in Florida saw a 16% decrease in first-time homebuyer activity, but still ranks highly as an area for first-time homebuyers to break through, with over half of all home loans going to first-time homeowners.
Bottom 10 Metro Areas for First-Time Homeowners
Some of the most expensive metro areas in the country made the list of worst metro areas for first-time homeowners. The average property value for these 10 metro areas is $491,000, over $176,000 more expensive than the average home purchased by first-time buyers. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area of California tops the list as the worst metro area for first-time homeowners, where just 3% of all home loans went to first-time buyers, and property values push median loan amounts to $735,000. For comparison, that’s nearly double the loan needed for first-time buyers in the next metro area over, Modesto, California.
| Rank | Metro Area | FHA as % of Total Home Loans | Avg Loan-to-Income Ratio | Median Income of FHA Borrowers | Median Loan Amount |
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 2.8% | 4 | $193,500 | $735,000 |
| 2 | Madison, WI | 3.1% | 3.2 | $106,500 | $345,000 |
| 3 | Urban Honolulu, HI | 4.5% | 4.1 | $139,000 | $615,000 |
| 4 | Ann Arbor, MI | 4.8% | 2.9 | $104,000 | $315,000 |
| 5 | San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA | 5.8% | 3.8 | $169,000 | $615,000 |
| 6 | Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH | 5.8% | 3.9 | $135,000 | $535,000 |
| 7 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 7.1% | 3 | $90,000 | $265,000 |
| 8 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 8.3% | 3.2 | $88,000 | $275,000 |
| 9 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | 8.7% | 3.5 | $120,000 | $415,000 |
| 10 | New York–Newark–Jersey City, NY–NJ–PA | 8.7% | 3.8 | $145,000 | $545,000 |
The Honolulu, Hawaii metro area saw improvement in its share of first-time homeowners from the previous year, seeing a 24% increase in first-time homebuyer loans.
Metros Seeing the Biggest Gains in First-Time Homeowners
By comparing 2024 first-time home loan data against the most recently-released numbers from 2025, we found that 68 metro areas gained first-time homeowners, while 69 metros lost buyers looking to purchase a home for the first time.
| Metro Area | % Change First-Time Homeowners (2024-2025) | Avg Loan-to-Income Ratio | Median Income of FHA Borrowers | Median Loan Amount |
| Fayetteville, NC | 78% | 3.2 | $87,000 | $285,000 |
| Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 57% | 3.5 | $87,000 | $295,000 |
| Asheville, NC | 50% | 3.7 | $97,000 | $355,000 |
| Toledo, OH | 34% | 2.5 | $74,000 | $175,000 |
| Visalia, CA | 31% | 3.7 | $100,000 | $375,000 |
| Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 30% | 2.7 | $72,500 | $185,000 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA | 28% | 2.9 | $85,000 | $245,000 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 25% | 3.4 | $97,000 | $325,000 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | 24% | 4.1 | $139,000 | $615,000 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 19% | 2.4 | $69,000 | $155,000 |
Among the metro areas that lost first-time homeowners, Wilmington, North Carolina was the worst, seeing a 63% decrease in first-time home buyers from the previous year, as affordability and homeowners insurance rate hikes deter buyers.
Where the Youngest Homeowners Are Getting Their Foot in the Door
The median age of a first-time buyer is now 40, according to the NAR, and according to our data, the youngest group of first-time buyers (under the age of 35) make up only 9% of all home loans originated. But in these 7 metro areas, younger buyers are purchasing homes for the first time at a much higher rate.
| Metro Area | First-Time Homebuyers Under Age 35 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 31.7% |
| Visalia, CA | 26.9% |
| Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | 24.1% |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 23.3% |
| Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 22.1% |
| El Paso, TX | 20.7% |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 20.7% |
| Mobile, AL | 19.9% |
| Corpus Christi, TX | 19.6% |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 17.8% |
Top Metro Areas for Single Female Homebuyers
Single female homebuyers accounted for 23% of all first-time borrowers across the 150 metros, down from 27% the previous year. In 21 metros, single females make up a third or more of all first-time homeowners, and outpace single male buyers in 22 areas. The metro area with the highest rate of single female first-time homeowners is Columbia, South Carolina, where 38% of first-time homebuyers are single females.
| Metro Area | Solo Women as % First-Time Homebuyers | Solo Men as % of First-Time Homebuyers |
| Columbia, SC | 37.9% | 28.1% |
| Montgomery, AL | 37.4% | 31.8% |
| Jackson, MS | 35.2% | 31.2% |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 35.0% | 26.6% |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 33.8% | 29.7% |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 33.7% | 30.5% |
| Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | 33.7% | 29.0% |
| Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell, GA | 33.2% | 27.8% |
| Baton Rouge, LA | 32.6% | 32.6% |
| Tallahassee, FL | 31.8% | 25.3% |
Where Housing Age May Strain First-Time Homeowners Financially
We explored the metro areas where first-time homeowner activity intersected with the oldest housing stock. While older homes can be more affordable options for first-time buyers compared to new builds, older homes may require critical systems replacements, such as a new roof or HVAC, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The Visalia, California metro area is one of the most popular for first-time buyers, but buyers are also borrowing nearly 4 times their income to own homes that are at a median of 44 years old, which means these homeowners may be strapped for cash when addressing maintenance and modernization costs of older homes.
| Metro Area | % FHA from Total Loans (2025) | Avg Loan-to-Income Ratio | Home Age |
| Visalia, CA | 45.5% | 3.7 | 44 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 45.1% | 2.5 | 44 |
| Mobile, AL | 39.7% | 3 | 43 |
| Corpus Christi, TX | 38.0% | 2.8 | 42 |
| Modesto, CA | 33.6% | 3.7 | 43 |
| Tulsa, OK | 31.0% | 3 | 43 |
| Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | 30.4% | 2.8 | 44 |
| Flint, MI | 26.6% | 2.5 | 54 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA | 26.0% | 2.9 | 51 |
| Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA | 25.5% | 3 | 66 |
According to a study by This Old House of 2,000 homeowners, owners of older homes (aged 20+ years) spent 48% more on a single home project compared to owners of newer homes, which means first-time buyers in these areas have to be extra careful to assess the “bones” of their home, as well as understand what risks they’re taking on.
About This First House
From the producers of This Old House, This First House follows millennial and Gen Z families as they start the journey of buying their first home, from bidding to making their first major renovations and repairs. Hosted by seasoned home experts, Camille and Zack Dettmore, the show highlights the financial realities young homeowners face today as they pursue the American dream of homeownership. This First House premieres on Roku in April of 2026.
Methodology
We analyzed data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to explore first-time homeowner activity across 150 of the most populous metropolitan areas in the United States. We analyzed loans originated for the purpose of purchasing a principal residence, and focused on data for first liens only. For the purposes of this study, we used home loans originated for the intent of purchase as a proxy for home-buying. Data from the HMDA is from most recently available data (2025). Statistics related to older home maintenance cost comes from a survey of 2,000 homeowners conducted by This Old House to gain insights regarding Americans’ experience with and outlook on repairs, maintenance, and remodeling projects. We collected survey data for this report from February 10, 2025, to February 11, 2025.