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The housing market is competitive, but Kansas Citians know how to play nice. According to a recent study by LendingTree, KC landed the No. 1 spot on a list ranking the friendliest metros for first-time homebuyers.
Factors considered include:
- Average. down payment amount + percentage
- Share of buyers using an FHA loan
- Percentage of buyers with credit scores below 680
- Share of homeowners who spend 30% or more of their monthly income on housing costs
Among Kansas City’s competitors, Oklahoma City (No. 2) + Louisville, KY (No. 3) also nabbed a top ranking. Friendly competition, LOUtoday? Rounding out the bottom of the list were New York, San Francisco, and San Jose, CA. The study considered the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the country.
Notable numbers:
- KC has one of the lowest down payments in the study at $30,219 — the average down payment across all 50 metros is more than double at $63,216.
- KC has one of the lowest down payment percentages out of the 50 metros at 10.1%. This is approximately 4 basis points lower than the average across all considered cities.
Want to learn more about how you can invest in our local housing market? Plan ahead with this list of tips for first-time homebuyers.