MA Is Unfriendly To First-Time Homebuyers, New Study Finds

MASSACHUSETTS — As home prices in Massachusetts continue to set new high points, a new study found that 10 of the state's major cities aren't among the best for first-time homebuyers.

In a new study, WalletHub compared a sample of 300 U.S. cities in three categories, including affordability, the real estate market and overall quality of life.

The most subjective of those categories, quality of life, was measured taking weather, schol systems, driver-friendliness, the job market, home energy costs and violent crime and property crime rates into account.

This study comes as first-time home buyers are shrinking when it comes to how much of the real estate purchasing market share they account for.

"Buying a home for the first time is a very stressful and difficult process, especially when housing prices are through the roof and interest rates have risen sharply in the past few years," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "The best cities for first-time home buyers not only are affordable both in terms of buying a house and living there afterward, but they also have a lot of housing choices as well as low crime rates and good schools."

According to the study, only 24 percent of homes bought in 2024 were purchased by first-time homebuyers. That figure is historically low, and down from 32 percent in 2023.

Of the 300 cities, here's where Massachusetts communities ranked:

• 191. Worcester
• 206. Springfield
• 215. Quincy
• 216. Lowell
• 220. Brockton
• 225. New Bedford
• 229. Lynn
• 230. Fall River
• 263. Boston
• 281. Cambridge

When ranking cities by size, Boston ranked 58th out of 68 in the "big city" category; Worcester ranked 74th and Springfield ranked 79th in the mid-sized category; and all remaining cities ranked 87th or lower out of 133 small cities.