Zillow has ranked Birmingham one of the top 10 markets for first-time homebuyers.

Birmingham ranked 8th, behind St. Louis, Detroit, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Austin, Pittsburgh and San Antonio. Kansas City and Baltimore rounded out the top 10.

These were some of the key statistics for Birmingham:

• Home Buying Age Households As a Share of Total Households: 25%
• Percentage of Median Household Income Spent on Rent: 22%
• Affordable Listings As a Percent of Total For-Sale Inventory: 47%
• Affordable Listings To Renter Household Ratio: 4.2 per 100 Renters

Zillow’s 2024 list of the best markets for first-time buyers is based on four metrics:

• Rent affordability, as defined by the share of median household income spent on rent.
• The share of available inventory on Zillow that the median household can comfortably afford, meaning spending no more than 30% of income on the estimated monthly mortgage cost.
• The ratio of affordable for-sale inventory to renter households. More inventory per renter household is an indicator of less competition for each listing.
• The share of households age 29-43. More households of similar age means a higher score in Zillow’s ranking.