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The Best Florida Cities For First Time Homebuyers

Author Tampa Bay's Morning Krewe

WalletHub has compiled a list of the best and worst cities for first time homebuyers. There are a bunch of Florida cities on the best cities list. The way they came up with the list is they looked at 300 United States cities of all sizes. Additionally, they looked at 22 indicators in the categories of real estate market, affordability, and quality of life. They also looked at the cost of living, real estate, taxes, crime rate, weather, quality of schools, and more items as well.

The Florida Cities On The List For First Time Homebuyers

There are six Florida cities in the top 10 for the best cities for first time homebuyers. Palm Bay, Florida comes in first overall. There are two Tampa Bay area cities in the top 10. Firstly, Tampa comes in at #4 on the list. Finally, Lakeland comes in at #7. Tampa ranks #1 for quality of life. It also ranks #6 in the real estate market. Although in affordability rank Tampa ranks 177th.

Below you can see the Top 10 Best U.S. cities for first time homebuyers.

  1. Palm Bay, Florida
  2. Cape Coral, Florida
  3. Port St. Lucie, Florida
  4. Tampa, Florida
  5. Orlando, Florida
  6. Surprise, Arizona
  7. Lakeland, Florida
  8. Boise, Idaho
  9. Gilbert, Arizona
  10. Henderson, Nevada

Cassandra Happe, a WalletHub Analyst says about the study, “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. 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.”

What The Worst Cities Are

Below you will see according to the study what the worst cities for first time homebuyers are.

  1. Berkeley, California
  2. Santa Monica, California
  3. Anchorage, Alaska
  4. Santa Barbara, California
  5. Oakland, California
  6. San Francisco, California
  7. Los Angeles, California
  8. Glendale, California
  9. Costa Mesa, California
  10. New York, New York

Kevin is a member of Tampa Bay‘s Hometown Morning Krewe on 995 QYK. He has been with the station for 25 years, is a Tampa native, and went to Jesuit High School and USF. Go Bulls!. He is passionate about all things Tampa Bay. Kevin writes articles on the ongoing road projects around the Tampa Bay area, awards that Tampa Bay cities and businesses have won and country music happenings around the Bay area. He is always doing many things with his wife and kids. He loves to read books and play video games in his spare time.

Make Your Money Grow with These Low-Risk Investments

If you have some money wasting away in a savings account that doesn’t have interest, then you might want to consider making your money grow with low-risk investments. Financial experts say that certain low-risk investments can really help pad your savings.

What Are Low-Risk Investments?

Before we get into the best low-risk investments, let’s look at what exactly is a low-risk investment. The official definition is basically what you would expect from the definition of a low-risk investment. According to the financial experts at Capital.com, it’s “an investment where there is perceived to be just a slight chance of losing some or all of your money. Low risk investments offer you a security blanket as they’re not likely to suddenly drop in value.”

In contrast, according to Investopedia.com, “A high-risk investment is one for which there is either a large percentage chance of loss of capital or under-performance—or a relatively high chance of a devastating loss.” They add that, “The first of these is intuitive, if subjective: If you were told there’s a 50/50 chance that your investment will earn your expected return, you may find that quite risky.” So, for example, a 50/50 risk might not seem risky to some, but it might seem risky to others. An investment with a 99% risk will obviously seem risky to everyone. But, with high-risk investments come big payouts, so that’s what lures people in. For example, a separate article from Investopedia.com states that some high-risk investments can double your money. That’s obviously a much bigger return than you would see in your average investment. As they state, “Make no mistake, there is no guaranteed way to double your money with any investment. But there are plenty of examples of investments that doubled or more in a short period of time.”

So, if you’re interested in making a ton of money, or losing it all, high-risk investments such as investing in foreign emerging markets may be of interest to you. “A country experiencing a growing economy can be an ideal investment opportunity,” experts at Investopedia.com state. “Investors can buy government bonds, stocks, or sectors with that country experiencing hyper-growth or ETFs that represent a growing sector of stocks.” They add “spurts in economic growth in countries are rare events that, though risky, can provide investors with a slew of brand new companies to invest in to bolster personal portfolios.”

Now, let’s move onto some low-risk investments for those who don’t want to risk losing their money. Of course, talk to your financial advisor before making any of these moves.

  • Invest in certificates of deposit (CDs)

    You’ve probably heard of CDs being low-risk investments. Fidelity.com explains that “CDs provide reliable, fixed-rate returns on a lump sum of money over a fixed period of time, such as six months, one year, or five years.” They add that the great thing is that if you “get a traditional CD at a bank or credit union where they are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the National Credit Union Association (NCUA).” Usually, CDs have a minimum deposit, and you’ll have to pay a penalty if you take your money out too soon.

    Woman putting money in piggy bank.

    Getty Images / AaronAmat

     

  • High-yield savings accounts

    High-yield savings accounts are like your regular savings account, but they earn more interest. “You can use these accounts for long-term savings goals or to hold extra money from your checking account,” CreditKarma.com states. “For example, if you want to start saving for a house or building up an emergency fund, this could be a great option.”

    Money.

    Getty Images /

  • U.S. treasury bills, notes and bonds

    Forbes.com says that right now, the risk level for U.S. treasury bills, notes and bonds is “very low.” They add that, “U.S. Treasury securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Historically, the U.S. has always paid its debts, which helps to ensure that Treasurys are the lowest-risk investments you can own.”

    Coins.

    Getty Images / sommart

  • Money market funds

    Fidelity.com states that, “Money market funds are mutual funds that invest in short-term, low-risk assets like Treasury and government securities, commercial paper, or municipal debt—depending on the focus of the fund.” They add that, “Because their underlying investments are typically high quality, they are generally less volatile than other types of mutual funds, such as stock funds.”

    Coins and a plant.

    Getty Images / Khongtham

  • Fixed annuities

    Fixed annuities are a pretty safe bet. As Forbes.com explains, “Fixed annuities are a popular type of annuity contract that are frequently used for retirement planning, but can also be useful for medium-term financial goals.” They add that, “Sold by insurance companies and financial services companies, a fixed annuity guarantees a fixed rate of return over a set period of time, regardless of market conditions.”

    Cash in a cup.

    Getty Images / artisteer

     

  • Invest inside your comfort zone

    People talk about stepping outside of their comfort zone in life, but really, investing isn’t a place to do this. You know how much money you have to “play” with, so if you’re worried about putting too much money in the market, these low-risk investments could still help you make money on your money.

    Piggy bank

    Getty Images / Nattakorn-Maneerat

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