Illinois town named best place to settle down for first-time homebuyers

Chicago-area housing market soars with high demand

Ayoub Rabah, president of Coldwell Banker, talks about the state of the Chicago-area housing market and explains the current rise in demand.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Bloomington, Illinois, located approximately 130 miles southwest of Chicago, is the best place to settle down for first-time homeowners, according to a new report.

The area was dubbed the top spot for first-time buyers, offering not only an abundance of affordable homes but also job opportunities as well as a "good mix of amenities," according to Realtor.com.

The real estate listings website compiled a list of the best marketplaces for potential new homeowners, namely millennials, amid an unprecedented "tight spring home-buying season."

MORE: Chicago exodus to suburbs in full swing, real estate broker says

Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Sabrina Speianu projected that this upcoming season will be a challenge for such buyers who will effectively be competing with "equity-rich existing homeowners, second-home buyers, and investors" for a short supply of homes.

‘You gotta be prepared to move quickly’: Houses flying off the market in Chicago, suburbs

In the Chicago area, people are struggling to buy homes. Real estate experts say because people have been stuck inside all year, so many families are looking to up-size.

Not only is there a "shrinking supply of existing homes for sale but there is also a "lower supply of newly constructed homes compared to historical norms."

To help, the site ranked 744 cities based on "key guiding criteria that a first-time home buyer may want to consider when choosing to potentially relocate in the search for greater affordability or a larger space."

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The top ten markets span the country from Savannah, Georgia, to Rapid City, South Dakota.

Here are Realtor.com’s top 10 markets for first time homebuyers for this spring season:

1. Bloomington, Illinois
2. Iowa City, Iowa
3. Kalamazoo Michigan
4. Great Falls, Montana
5. Eau Claire, Wisconsin
6. Savannah, Georgia
7. Schenectady, New York
8. Taylorsville, Utah
9. Harrisonburg, Virginia
10. Rapid City, South Dakota

For more, go to Fox Business.