housing market

Berkeley, Oakland ranked among worst cities in the U.S. for first-time homebuyers, study finds

ByVienna J. Montague KGO logo

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Bay Area one of the worst places for first-time homebuyers

Berkeley and Oakland are ranked among the worst places for first-time homebuyers because of their high cost and crime rates, and they aren't the only Bay Area cities to make the list.

First-time homebuyers, beware! Putting down roots in the Bay Area could be a costly decision.

Cities in the Bay may be beautiful, but they rank among the worst areas to settle down, according to a new study by the personal finance website WalletHub.

The study looked at the cost of living, real estate taxes, property crime rates and 24 other different metrics for 300 different cities spanning the United States.

$2.5 million shack for sale in San Francisco

The worst place to purchase property on the list was the city of Berkeley, and just three spots below that was Oakland. Santa Rosa, Antioch, San Jose and San Francisco rounded out the bottom of the list.

San Francisco, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara were among six cities that tied for the highest cost of living in the country.

Taking longer to sell houses in Bay Area

Rent prices were also compared to mortgage costs. The Bay Area did not perform well in this category, either.

The five cities with the absolute worst median home values compared to median annual rent were all in the Bay Area and included Berkeley, Fremont, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale.

Weather and the job market were also factored into the ranking.

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