As Austin's real estate market slowly bounces back after several years of high housing prices, a new WalletHub analysis has revealed it is the 19th best large U.S. city for first-time homebuyers, and the No. 1 big city in Texas.

WalletHub's study ranked 300 U.S. cities across 22 metrics based on affordability, quality of life, and the status of each city's real estate market, including factors like active listings per capita, homeownership rates for millennials, and more. Cities were ranked overall and based on population size: Large cities with more than 300,000 residents; midsize cities with populations between 150,000-300,000 people; and small cities with fewer than 150,000 people.

Palm Bay, Florida ranked as the No. 1 best housing market for first-time homebuyers regardless of city size. Meanwhile, the report determined Tampa is the best large city for first-time buyers.

Austin earned a favorable No. 10 rank in the report's "real estate market" category, though it didn't earn quite such stellar rankings in the quality of life (No. 120) or affordability (No. 257) categories.

Despite the city's abysmal affordability ranking, there are many ongoing initiatives to bring more affordable housing to Austin. A local nonprofit recently broke ground on a new housing development specifically geared toward Austin's senior-aged LGBTQ+ community, and 104 deeply affordable tiny homes are currently under construction in southeast Austin.

Habitat for Humanity has also expanded its qualifications to help middle-income families buy homes in the city, and local nonprofit SAFE Alliance is developing its own affordable supportive housing community for family violence survivors.

Austin has the 9th highest rate of new home construction in the nation, with several more housing developments underway in some of the city's most popular suburbs, including Manor, Bee Cave, Bastrop, and Georgetown.

In the overall rankings — regardless of city size — Austin landed as No. 105 best place for first-time homebuyers out of all 300 U.S. cities.

According to the National Association of Realtors, only 24 percent of all home purchases in the nation were made by first-time buyers in 2024, down from 32 percent in 2023.

"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."

Here's how other Texas housing markets fared in the report's ranking of the best large cities for first-time homebuyers:

• No. 27 – Fort Worth
• No. 31 – El Paso
• No. 37 – Corpus Christi
• No. 38 – Arlington
• No. 39 – San Antonio
• No. 51 – Dallas
• No. 56 – Houston