Angelenos, congratulations — you officially live in one of the worst metro areas for first-time home buyers, according to a new study by Bankrate.com. Out of the 50 largest metro areas studied, Los Angeles ranked 49th in affordability, 48th in employment factors, 30th in safety, and 39th in housing-market tightness, as the supply of homes for sale nationwide has fallen to historically low levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. But on the flip side, L.A. ranked third in wellness and culture.
Los Angeles was ranked the “worst metro for first-time buyers,” followed by Las Vegas, Seattle, Riverside and San Jose. The typical seasonally-adjusted home value of homes in the U.S. hovered at $349,816 in May 2022, which includes the middle-price tier of homes, according to Zillow. Home values have increased 20.7% nationally over the past year, it added. To put that in context: The typical home value of homes in Los Angeles is $1,007,124, Zillow added, with home values up 17.1% over the past 12 months.A widening housing affordability gap But Los Angeles, Riverside and San Jose aren’t the only cities in California that are proving out of reach, particularly for first-time buyers. According to personal-finance site Bankrate, 10 of the worst metro areas for first-time home buyers are located in California, including San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento. “The housing boom of the past two years has widened the affordability gap between low-priced …