The Houston housing market may not be for everyone. In a surprising turn of events, Houston has flopped to the bottom of a new list of the best U.S. cities for first-time homebuyers.

WalletHub's new study — which analyzes the affordability, quality of life, and real estate market in 300 U.S. cities — ranks Houston No. 271, or the 30th worst city overall in the U.S. buy your first home. And, when broken down by city size, WalletHub ranks Houston the 9th worst big city for first-time buyers (No. 61 out of 69).

Houston's lack of appeal for first-time buyers is essentially due to its poor affordability and quality of life scores, rather than the state of the city's housing market, according to the report's findings.

H-town ranks 216th out of all 300 U.S. cities for its affordability, and it appears farther down the list for its quality of life, landing 284th nationally. Houston's cost of living, however, is better than most cities, ranking 51st overall.

The city's real estate market ranking is among the top 100 in the U.S., at No. 91, but that wasn't enough to outweigh its less-than-stellar rankings in the other main categories.

Other metrics (where No. 1 is the best and No. 150 is average) that factored into Houston's overall ranking include:

• No. 31 – Total home energy cost
• No. 77 – Rent-to-price ratio
• No. 99 – Median home-price appreciation
• No. 148 – Foreclosure rate
• No. 246 – Real estate tax rate
• No. 270 – Property crime rates

First-time buyers across the country are entering the housing market at a difficult time, the report says. The National Association of Realtors reported the share of first-time homebuyers sank to an all-time low in 2025, to 21 percent, whereas the historic national average is 40 percent.

"Buying a home for the first time is an exciting and important milestone for many Americans, but achieving that milestone is getting more difficult as prices and interest rates continue to rise," the report's author wrote. "People willing and able to invest in a house this year must balance what they want and need with what they can afford. Often, people begin searching for their dream home without a realistic idea of market prices, interest rates or even their eligibility for a mortgage."