{"id":9489,"date":"2026-04-25T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lisamillerpllc.com\/staging\/?p=9489"},"modified":"2026-04-25T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T22:00:00","slug":"heres-where-phoenix-ranks-among-best-housing-markets-for-first-time-buyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lisamillerpllc.com\/staging\/heres-where-phoenix-ranks-among-best-housing-markets-for-first-time-buyers\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s where Phoenix ranks among best housing markets for first-time buyers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jacksonville, Birmingham, San Antonio, Atlanta, and Houston rank as the top U.S. markets for first-time homebuyers in 2026 due to better affordability, more inventory, and less competition. While mortgage rates and limited inventory remain challenges, rising incomes and stabilizing prices improve opportunities. Southern and Midwestern markets offer more affordable options, with Sun Belt areas recovering inventory faster. Buyers should leverage negotiating power; sellers should price realistically.<\/p>\n

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Jacksonville, Birmingham, San Antonio, Atlanta, and Houston rank as the top U.S. markets for first-time homebuyers in 2026 due to better affordability, more inventory, and less competition. While mortgage rates and limited inventory remain challenges, rising incomes and stabilizing prices improve opportunities. Southern and Midwestern markets offer more affordable options, with Sun Belt areas recovering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paOTA9-2t3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8776,"url":"https:\/\/lisamillerpllc.com\/staging\/2025-housing-market-finally-a-win-for-buyers\/","url_meta":{"origin":9489,"position":0},"title":"2025 Housing Market: Finally a Win for Buyers?","author":"admin","date":"September 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Home Sales Forecast: 4M Units Sales activity will remain stable near 4 million, slightly below 2024, with modest fluctuations expected through late 2025. Price Growth Slows to 2.5% National home prices will continue to rise, but at a slower pace, as inventory builds and sellers adjust to a more balanced\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/lisamillerpllc.com\/staging\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lisamillerpllc.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/twentyfive-finally-win_share.jpg?fit=496%2C279&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9190,"url":"https:\/\/lisamillerpllc.com\/staging\/buyers-or-sellers-who-really-wins-in-the-2026-housing-market\/","url_meta":{"origin":9489,"position":1},"title":"Buyers or Sellers: Who Really Wins in the 2026 Housing Market?","author":"admin","date":"February 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The 2026 housing market appears calmer than past years but isn\u2019t clearly favouring buyers or sellers. 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Some markets with more new supply offer buyers modest negotiating leverage. Stabilizing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/lisamillerpllc.com\/staging\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lisamillerpllc.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/gradual-rise-2026_share.jpg?fit=496%2C279&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9111,"url":"https:\/\/lisamillerpllc.com\/staging\/mortgage-rates-drop-homes-still-climbing\/","url_meta":{"origin":9489,"position":4},"title":"Mortgage Rates Drop: Homes Still Climbing?","author":"admin","date":"January 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Slide 1 Homes are finally more budget-friendly\u2014median price $385K, up $9K since last year! Slide 2 Mortgage rates dropped 0.7% since May\u2014your dream home might cost less now. Slide 3 Inventory jumped 18%\u2014more homes to choose from than any November since 2015! 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