While Las Vegas' real estate market is improving, one study found it is not the easiest place for a first-time buyer.
According to LendingTree, Las Vegas is the fifth most challenging city for first-time home buyers. The most challenging city is Denver.
LendingTree even acknowledged that it was surprising that Las Vegas, along with Austin, Texas, was in the challenging category, indicating that outside buyers may be pushing out the local population.
The study based its rankings off average down payment amount, share of buyers using a Federal Housing Administration mortgage, average down payment percentage, percentage of buyers who have less than prime credit, share of homes sold that median income families can afford and average FHA down payment as a percentage of the down payment. LendingTree wrote that down payments are the biggest obstacles to home ownership.
The average down payment in Las Vegas is $40,785.
LendingTree found that Little Rock, Arkansas was the best city for first-time home buyers with an average down payment of $24,896.
