Virginia's best real estate for first-time home owners

FILE – A cul-de-sac runs through a new housing development in Middlesex Township, Pa., on Oct. 12, 2022. The sharp rise in borrowing costs that helped torpedo the U.S. housing market in 2022 has been partly driven by a wider-than-usual divergence between long-term mortgage rates and the yield on the benchmark U.S. government bond. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

WalletHub ranked over 300 cities on affordability, real estate market, quality of life

by: Kenzie Finch

Posted: Jan 28, 2024 / 04:52 PM EST

Updated: Jan 28, 2024 / 08:01 PM EST

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — New findings by WalletHub ranked the nation’s best spots for first-time home owners, some of which include local cities. The data ranked over 300 cities of varying sizes in order to help Americans narrow their search of the best city to purchase their first home.

The rankings were determined on the basis of affordability, real-estate market and quality of life. Chesapeake and Virginia Beach both ranked in the top 20 of the nation’s best locations, with Chesapeake at No. 9 and Virginia Beach at No. 15.

Source: WalletHub

Also in the top 50 are Newport News and Hampton at No. 34 and 37, respectively. Norfolk ranked at No. 54 with Portsmouth making the list at No. 108.

The data also showed rankings based on the size of the city: large, midsized and small as shown below.