A new study by Construction Coverage ranked Orlando No. 35 among all large U.S. metros on its list of best locations in which to buy a starter home.
The data used in the analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau, Zillow (Nasdaq: ZG) and Redfin (Nasdaq: RDFN).
To determine the locations where you're most likely to find a starter home, researchers at Construction Coverage calculated a composite score based on the percentage and median sales price of homes with three or fewer bedrooms, the months of supply of houses for sale and the homeownership rate for people under age 35.
Here's a summary of the data for the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area (with a comparison of the stats for the entire country):
Composite score: 28
Percentage of homes with fewer than 3 bedrooms: 62.8% in metro Orlando (67.8% in the U.S.)
Median sale price of homes with fewer than 3 bedrooms: $337,670 ($309,496)
Months supply: 2 (2)
Homeownership rate for under-35 householders: 9.8% (10.7%)
While conditions are challenging overall for new buyers, some parts of the U.S. are more favorable, the Construction Coverage study showed.
Ideal markets for new buyers displayed a combination of adequate supply, a high share of smaller homes in the housing supply, relatively low sales prices for starter homes and strong homeownership rates among young people.
By these measures, West Virginia is the best state in the country to find a starter home, followed by Oklahoma and Mississippi. At the local level, Southern and Rust Belt cities lead the way.
Other Florida cities that ranked in the study include Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach (No. 3), Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (No. 10) and Jacksonville (No. 28).
See the full study and rankings here.
San Diego-based Construction Coverage offers analysis and data-driven research of industry trends.