PHOENIX – Zillow rated Phoenix among the top cities with best markets for first-time homebuyers.

The real estate website ranked the 35 largest U.S. housing markets across four metrics, including low median home value and strong forecasted home value appreciation.

Phoenix came in at No. 3 on Zillow’s list, right behind No. 2 Las Vegas and No. 1 Tampa.

According to a press release, first-time buyers make up 46 percent of all buyers nationally, and 60 percent of them are millennials.

The number of less-expensive starter homes is up from last year, making this a good time for first-time buyers, according to the release.

“The shortage of starter homes across the country is finally starting to ease, and that’s good news for would-be first-time buyers who have been saving up to make the leap into homeownership,” Skylar Olsen, Zillow’s director of economic research, said in the release.

Six of the ten most challenging markets for first-time buyers are on the West Coast because of the high cost and low inventory.

Zillow’s top three most challenging markets are No. 1 San Francisco, No. 2 Seattle and No. 3 Washington, D.C.