Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Construction Coverage.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the median age of first-time homebuyers is 35 years old, which means that members of the millennial generation — generally regarded as individuals born between 1981 and 1996 — have reached the stage in their lives where buying a home is often a top priority.
Yet recently, the cost of homeownership has skyrocketed in large part due to an adverse combination of high interest rates and scarce inventory, leaving millennials with a daunting homeownership outlook.
Despite the overall decline in homebuying across the country, millennials still account for the majority of home purchase loans in 2023. However, millennial home purchasing varies by location.
To determine the locations where millennials are buying homes, researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed data from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. For more information, see the methodology section at the end.
Following are the locations where millennials are buying homes. Due to limitations in the dataset, the millennial generation was approximated as being age 25-44 in the year 2023 — the best representation of the generation at the time.
15. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 64.1%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 42,037
- Median loan amount: $375,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 84.6%
- Median interest rate: 6.500%
14. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 64.4%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 42,570
- Median loan amount: $305,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 84.3%
- Median interest rate: 6.625%
13. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 64.5%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 27,440
- Median loan amount: $485,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 82.7%
- Median interest rate: 6.500%
12. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 64.6%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 21,521
- Median loan amount: $325,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 87.1%
- Median interest rate: 6.625%
11. Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 64.7%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 5,854
- Median loan amount: $275,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 80.6%
- Median interest rate: 6.500%
10. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 65.0%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 53,710
- Median loan amount: $495,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 79.9%
- Median interest rate: 6.500%
9. Pittsburgh, PA
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 65.4%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 9,922
- Median loan amount: $235,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 87.8%
- Median interest rate: 6.625%
8. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 65.9%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 18,748
- Median loan amount: $495,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 81.0%
- Median interest rate: 6.500%
7. Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 66.0%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 4,479
- Median loan amount: $215,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 86.0%
- Median interest rate: 6.625%
6. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 66.0%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 25,788
- Median loan amount: $335,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 83.8%
- Median interest rate: 6.625%
5. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 66.9%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 19,964
- Median loan amount: $525,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 80.1%
- Median interest rate: 6.490%
4. Austin-Round Rock- Georgetown, TX
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 68.7%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 17,170
- Median loan amount: $405,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 80.7%
- Median interest rate: 6.375
3. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 68.7%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 20,395
- Median loan amount: $605,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 80.1%
- Median interest rate: 6.500%
2. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 69.1%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 16,119
- Median loan amount: $815,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 79.6%
- Median interest rate: 6.375%
1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
- Millennial share of home purchase loans: 73.5%
- Total millennial home purchase loans: 6,839
- Median loan amount: $1,045,000
- Median loan-to-value ratio: 79.2%
- Median interest rate: 6.250%
Methodology
The data used in this analysis is from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s 2023 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
To determine the locations where millennials are buying homes, researchers at Construction Coverage calculated the millennial share of conventional home purchase loans originated in 2023.
In the event of a tie, the location with the greater total number of millennial home purchase loans was ranked higher.
Due to limitations in the dataset, the millennial generation was approximated as being age 25-44 in the year 2023 — the combination of the 25-34 and 35-44 age cohorts.
In a prior version of this analysis, the millennial generation was approximated using only the 25-34 age cohort in 2020 since this best represented the generation at the time.
To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 residents were included.
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