Michigan Cities That Are Best (or Worst) For New Home Buyers

For a great many Americans yet to enter the housing market for the first time, it seems a near-impossible task to purchase a home. While everything is more expensive than ever, in all reality, plenty of people buy their first homes every year.

For those fortunate enough to find themselves in a position to buy their first home in the near future, one factor reigns supreme when choosing your house: location, location, location.

Naturally, there are plenty of places across the state of Michigan that are perfect for a first-time home buyer, but there are a number that should probably be avoided altogether. Whether a city falls into the best category or the worst, each has its own unique reasons.

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WalletHub recently ranked 300 of the biggest cities in the country from best to worst for prospective first-time homebuyers. So, if you're looking for an urban lifestyle in the Mitten State, here's where you should look.

The best city for first-time homebuyers in Michigan is Sterling Heights. It's the 38th most affordable city in the country and lands in the top half of cities for overall quality of life. It's not much of a surprise, as Sterling Heights isn't the most exclusive suburb of Detroit, but it still separates itself enough from the big city for its own slice of life.

Warren is the next-best bet, thanks in large part to its affordability. Of course, Warren, much like Detroit, is on the rebound. Buying here has its risks (the quality of life ranking is No. 208) but also helps the city grow positively.

Dearborn, Flint and Grand Rapids round out the Michigan cities in the top 100 nationally. Flint is the fourth most affordable in the country and tops in the state, but it also carries the lowest quality of life score in the state besides Detroit. Dearborn isn't quite as affordable (60th overall), but also has a strong real estate market ranking.

Surprisingly, Grand Rapids dips on the overall rankings because of a 263 ranking in quality of life. However, the city is 37th most affordable and has the 85th-best real estate market. Finding the right place to live in GR is the trick, it seems. After all, Grand Rapids topped this list last year.

Livonia, Detroit and Ann Arbor make up the cities in the second-third of the overall list. Livonia just missed the top 100 at No. 106. While an affordable place to buy, the other factors are too much to overcome.

Detroit is naturally a tricky place to navigate in the housing market. As expressed earlier, there are few places in the country cheaper to buy than in the Motor City, which ranked as the 6th-cheapest place to buy - with a top-100 real estate market to boot. However, of the 300 cities ranked, Detroit ranked No. 298 for quality of life, which isn't exactly surprising. Still, the city is on the rebound, and the right homebuyers joining the city is always a positive.

Ann Arbor plummeted on the list down to No. 192 because most of its attributes were average. The quality of life ranking at No. 230 seems unwarranted, but it's no secret that Ann Arbor isn't a cheap place to live.

As for the worst city in the state from WalletHub's study, Lansing was the only one to land in the 200s. It wasn't too bad, as Lansing checked in at No. 203. Lansing's rankings mirror Detroit's except for affordability, which barely sits in the top 100. The quality of life ranking at 297 is a tough look though.

To see further details or to look for potential cities out of state, check out WalletHub's study here.