YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A Virginia-based real estate developer ranks the Youngstown metropolitan area the No. 4 U.S. market for first-time homebuyers.
House Buyers of America analyzed the 200 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas to develop its 2026 Starter Home Cities List. It’s a ranking of markets where entry-level homeownership “remains accessible, competitive and economically sound.”
The ranking is no surprise to Mahoning Valley real estate agents.
“If you look at an entry [home] in certain markets, it’s $500,000 to $600,000, where here you’re probably looking at around $200,000, maybe,” said Marlin Palich, a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Stouffer Realty. “I’ve always said that. I mean, if you look at it, our dollar goes further.”
That includes all of the Mahoning Valley, Palich said. He relayed that a couple recently moved to Salem from California. They paid between $400,000 and $500,000 in cash for the Salem home after selling their California residence. The same home in the Golden State would have cost $3 million to $4 million, he added.
Alex Micco, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Chervenic Realty, agrees. He pointed to the five-year home value appreciation, which the study lists at nearly 45% for the Youngstown market.
“I think a lot of it ties into, especially for Youngstown specifically, the lack of inventory,” Micco said. “And it’s driving home prices up.”
A lot of people searching for a home get into bidding wars, he said. A home in good shape with good bones that’s in the first-time homebuyer price range sells quickly, he added. That drives up prices.
The ranking factors in average home sale prices, five-year home value appreciation, median days on the market, wage growth and unemployment rate.
For the Youngstown metropolitan market, the study lists the 2026 average home sale price at $162,557, 44.86% as the five-year home value appreciation and 67 for median days on the market.
Charleston, W.Va., topped the company’s homebuyers starter city list. Other Ohio markets in the top 20 are Canton, No. 7; Toledo, No. 10; and Akron, No. 13. Erie, at No. 9, is the only Pennsylvania market to crack the top 20. Cleveland ranks No. 26, and Pittsburgh is No. 38.
Nick Ron, House Buyers of America founder and CEO, said in a news release that a true starter home in 2026 is one that provides a viable path to wealth building without sacrificing market liquidity.
“There needs to be alignment between entry-level pricing and local wages,” he said. “This ensures that the first rung on the property ladder is both reachable and structurally sound, and that’s what we’ve seen with these results.”
He said the markets combine affordability and equity growth.
“They offer a critical combination of sub-$200,000 price points and resilient value appreciation that outperforms national benchmarks,” he said in the release. “This is an essential combination for providing an accessible entry to homeownership and wealth-building.”
The study found that in coastal cities and parts of the Sun Belt, median wage earners have been priced out of the market because of low inventory, high home prices and mortgage rates.
Palich said that in addition to affordability, the Valley’s proximity to top hospitals, including the Cleveland Clinic, works as a selling point for the region.
“It’s a good place to live,” he said. “Granted, we get snow once in a while, but it’s very affordable.”