Boston a top city to be a homeowner, report says

Boston is one of the best cities in America to own a home, according to a new study from personal-finance website SmartAsset.

The analysis looked at four factors in different cities: the one-year median home value change; the six-year value change; the property crime rate per 100,000 residents; and the average effective property tax rate.

Boston scored pretty high on all factors, especially when it came to values and taxes. Per the report:

For the Bostonians who managed to buy a home, they saw median values rise 3.72 percent from 2014 to 2015. That’s the 30th-fastest rate in our study. Plus, if you own a home in Boston, you can expect to only have to pay an average effective property tax of 0.77 percent—a top 20 rate in our study.

That “Bostonians who managed to buy a home” bit is a serious caveat re: the analysis: Boston remains one of the most expensive U.S. cities in which to buy a home. Should you be able to, though, it can pay off.

Here’s a rundown of other cities where that’s true, per SmartAsset:

• The Best Cities to Be a Homeowner [SmartAsset]