New poll ranks Surprise, Yuma as among most affordable U.S. cities to buy a home

Two Arizona cities rank among the top five most affordable places in the country to buy a home, according to a new WalletHub study released Tuesday.

Surprise placed third and Yuma fourth in the personal finance website’s ranking of the 300 largest U.S. cities, trailing only Flint, Michigan and Detroit. Mesa came in 15th overall.

In all, nine Arizona cities landed in the top 50: Surprise, Yuma, Mesa, Peoria, Gilbert, Chandler, Phoenix and Glendale, with Tucson at No. 62 and Tempe at 86. Scottsdale ranked 114th.

WalletHub analyzed home prices, maintenance costs, taxes, insurance, cost of living and vacancy rates to compile the list.

Surprise stood out for strong property value growth, the eighth-lowest real estate tax rate in the study and a high number of active listings per resident, the report said.

“The most affordable cities, like Flint, MI, Detroit, and Surprise, AZ, have low costs across several of these different metrics,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the news release..

The findings come as the national median home sales price has climbed to $403,200 and the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate sits at 6.37%, up from a record low of 2.65% in January 2021.

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