The 10 Best Markets for First-Time Buyers This Spring

Written by St. Petersburg Mortgage Syndicated User on April 21, 2026. Posted in Affordability, First-Time Buyers, Inventory, Mortgage St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Mortgage.

For a while, buying your first home hasn’t just felt hard. It may have felt out of reach.Not because you weren’t ready.Not because you weren’t trying.But because every time you ran the numbers, they didn’t work.That’s why so many first-time buyers stepped back.But after years of sitting on the outside looking in, this Spring could give buyers like you an opening again – especially in some markets.Metros Where Buyers May Have an Easier Time Breaking into the Market Zillow just released a list of the top 50 metros for first-time buyers this Spring. And here’s a quick snapshot of the top 10...

Wondering If You Should Still Buy a Home Right Now? Here’s What To Keep in Mind.

Written by St. Petersburg Mortgage Syndicated User on April 14, 2026. Posted in Affordability, First-Time Buyers, For Buyers, Mortgage Rates, Mortgage St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Mortgage.

With economic headlines, global events, and near constant talk about affordability, you may be wondering if this is the right time to move. But here’s what you need to remember.While recent events do have some impact on the housing market, they don’t take buying off the table. You just have to use a different strategy.Mortgage Rates Have Been Up Slightly – Here’s WhyAfter trending down for most of 2025, mortgage rates have been higher again for over roughly a month now. And experts say it’s a result of what’s happening overseas and in the broader economy. As Mark Fleming, Chief...

When Buying a Home Feels Out of Reach, Some Families Do This Instead

Written by St. Petersburg Mortgage Syndicated User on April 10, 2026. Posted in Affordability, Buying Tips, For Buyers, Mortgage St. Petersburg, Senior Market, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Mortgage.

For a lot of people, the math on buying a home just doesn’t really work right now. Maybe that’s how it feels for you too. You look at the cost of buying. Then you look at the cost of childcare. And it starts to feel like you have to choose one or the other.But some families are finding a way to make both work by doing something a little different: teaming up to purchase a multi-generational home.One Reason This Is Becoming More CommonIt’s no secret that affordability has been a challenge in recent years. But for families with young kids, there’s an added layer that can make it feel even...

Affordability Has Improved in All 50 States

Written by St. Petersburg Mortgage Syndicated User on March 20, 2026. Posted in Affordability, First-Time Buyers, For Buyers, Mortgage St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Mortgage.

For the past few years, affordability has been what’s stopped a lot of buyers in their tracks. Maybe it stopped you, too.At some point you probably did the math, looked at the monthly payment, and decided to pause your search and wait for things to get better. But here’s something you may have missed while you’ve been sitting on the sidelines.Over the last year, housing affordability has improved in all 50 states. Yes, you read that right. It’s gotten better in every single state.That’s based on new research coming out of First American. And while housing is still fairly expensive compared...

Should You Wait for Lower Rates?

Written by St. Petersburg Mortgage Syndicated User on March 10, 2026. Posted in Affordability, First-Time Buyers, For Buyers, Mortgage Rates, Mortgage St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Mortgage.

Mortgage rates have already dropped into the upper 5s twice this year. But after just a few days, they ticked back up into the low 6% range. If you saw that and thought, “Great. I missed it,” you’re not the only one.A lot of buyers are treating the 5s like some kind of magic number. As if moving from 6.1% to 5.99% suddenly changes everything. And from a mindset perspective, it does feel different.But here’s the part most people don’t actually run the math on.The Payment Difference Isn’t What You ThinkLet’s say you’re looking at a $500,000 home loan. At 6.1%, generally speaking, your...

Renting vs. Buying: The Numbers Might Surprise You

Written by St. Petersburg Mortgage Syndicated User on February 26, 2026. Posted in Affordability, First-Time Buyers, For Buyers, Mortgage St. Petersburg, Rent vs. Buy, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Mortgage.

Renting can feel like the easier choice right now. There’s no big down payment. No dealing with surprise repairs. And no long-term commitment.But then your rent goes up again. And again. And suddenly the thing that seemed flexible starts looking… expensive, especially considering you’re not building any equity. And once that happens, it’s easy to feel a little trapped in the cycle.That’s because there’s so much chatter today about how buying a home isn’t affordable. But the truth is, the math may work out better than you’d expect based on what’s changed recently.Buying Is More...

Why Townhomes Are Popular with Today’s First-Time Buyers

Written by St. Petersburg Mortgage Syndicated User on February 10, 2026. Posted in Affordability, First-Time Buyers, Mortgage St. Petersburg, New Construction, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Mortgage.

Buying your first home can feel frustrating when the numbers don’t line up the way you expected. You may know you’re ready but finding something that fits your life and your budget is the hard part.That’s where townhomes come in.Townhomes are becoming a bigger part of today’s housing supply, and that shift is opening doors for first-time buyers in a way we haven’t seen in years. That’s because they offer a more realistic path to step into homeownership without stretching yourself too thin, especially in a market where affordability can still feel tight.There Are More Townhomes To Choose...

It’s Getting More Affordable To Buy a Home

Written by St. Petersburg Mortgage Syndicated User on February 5, 2026. Posted in Affordability, First-Time Buyers, For Buyers, Mortgage St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Mortgage.

There’s finally a little good news for anyone who’s been priced out or sitting on the sidelines.Buying a home is getting more affordable.Monthly payments have started to come down, and the squeeze buyers have been feeling for the past few years is slowly loosening. Now, that doesn’t mean everyone can suddenly afford a home, but with how tough the market’s been, the improvement we’re seeing matters.Affordability Is Finally Moving in the Right DirectionOne of the best ways to see this shift is by looking at how much of a household’s income it takes to buy a home.According to Zillow, housing...

Mortgage Rates Recently Hit a 3-Year Low. Here’s Why That’s Still a Big Deal.

Written by St. Petersburg Mortgage Syndicated User on January 23, 2026. Posted in Affordability, For Buyers, Mortgage Rates, Mortgage St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Mortgage.

If you’re one of the thousands of homebuyers waiting for rates to fall, you should know it’s already happening. And they recently crossed an important milestone. Rates officially dipped their toes into the 5s – something that hasn’t happened in about 3 years.This moment marked a critical threshold. Now, rates are sitting in the low 6% territory. And expert forecasts project they’ll hover near this range throughout the year.Here’s why that’s so good for you. Why Current Rates Are Such a Big DealA mortgage rate doesn’t just affect the interest you end up paying on your home loan. It...

Is January the Best Time To Buy a Home?

Written by St. Petersburg Mortgage Syndicated User on December 19, 2025. Posted in Affordability, Buying Tips, For Buyers, Mortgage St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Mortgage.

You may not want to put your homebuying plans into hibernation mode this winter. While a lot of people assume spring is the ideal time to buy a house, new data shows January may actually be the best time of year for budget-conscious buyers. Kind of surprising, right? Here’s why January deserves a serious look.1. Prices Tend To Be Lower This Time of YearLending Tree says January is the least expensive month to buy a home. And there’s something to that. January has historically offered one of the lowest price-per-square-foot points of the entire year. But the spring? That’s when demand (and...

Category: Affordability