For 5th consecutive year Santa Barbara ranked 4th worst city for first-time buyers
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — For a 5th consecutive year the city of Santa Barbara was ranked the 4th worst city for first-time buyers.
The not-so-staggering data was established by a recent WalletHub report, which determined the most favorable housing markets for first-time home buyers.
WalletHub's report compared a sample of 300 U.S. cities - varied in size - across three key factors: Affordability, real-estate market and quality of life.
The recent report also evaluated those key factors using 22 relevant metrics and graded on a 100-point scale. A perfect score of 100 represents the most favorable conditions for first-time home buyers.
According to the National Association of Realtors, 26% of home purchases were made by first-time buyers in 2022.
Here's how the central coast city of Santa Barbara ranked:
The data metric also shows Santa Barbara ranked 253rd in Cost of Living; 297th in Rent-to-Price Ratio; 194th in Median Home-Price Appreciation; and 139th in Property-Crime Rate.
A slight upside in Santa Barbara shows the city ranked 26th in Real-Estate Tax Rate and 30th in Foreclosure Rate.
In WalletHub's methodology, each city was categorized to population-size guidelines:
- Large cities: More than 300,000 people
- Midsize cities: 150,000 to 300,000 people
- Small cities: Fewer than 150,000 people
Santa Barbara was placed in the small cities category and ranked 131. Santa Monica ranked 132 and Berkeley finished last at 133.
Neighboring cities within Santa Barbara County and in Ventura County are not far behind Santa Barbara's abysmal ranking. Santa Maria ranked 214, Oxnard ranked 248 and Ventura was placed at 269.
To compare and contrast other cities in California or across the United States, see the map below.
Source: WalletHubTo read the full summary from WalletHub click here.
