A new analysis from LendingTree® out Wednesday found that millennial home buyers prefer Pittsburgh, along with Salt Lake City and Minneapolis.
To determine where millennials are buying homes, LendingTree analyzed new purchase mortgage requests made on LendingTree.com between Jan. 1, 2018 and Nov. 25, 2018. The study revealed that nearly one-fourth of all mortgage purchase requests in this period came from millennials, and millennials in Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh were more likely to be pursuing homeownership than any of the nation's other 50 largest metropolitan areas.
Key findings
- Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh are the metros where millennials are making up the largest percentage of purchase requests. In Salt Lake City, a majority of the total purchase requests in the area, 51%, come from millennials. In Minneapolis and Pittsburgh, 48% come from millennials.
- In Tampa, Fla., Las Vegas and Miami, millennials are making the least purchase requests. Only 30% of purchase requests came from people under 35 in Tampa. That number was only slightly higher in Las Vegas and Miami, where 31% and 32% of purchase requests came from those under 35.
- San Francisco, San Jose, Calif. and New York are where millennials wait the longest to buy homes. The average age for these three areas was 29.6 years old. This compares with an average of 28.7 years old across the remaining 47 largest metros in the U.S.
- Salt Lake City, Louisville, Ky. and Cincinnati are the metros with the lowest average age of buyers under 35. In each of these areas, the average age for potential millennial home buyers is around 28 years old.
- San Jose, Calif., San Francisco and New York are the places where millennials had the highest average credit scores. In each of these areas, the average millennial home buyer had a credit score higher than 704. By comparison, the average credit score for millennial home buyers across the 50 largest MSAs in the country was 656.
- Memphis, Tenn., Birmingham, Ala. and New Orleans are where millennials had the lowest average credit scores. Credit scores in these three areas were 622, 629 and 634 respectively.
Most popular cities among millennial home buyers
Salt Lake City
Share of Purchase Mortgage Requests Coming from Millennials: 51%
Average Requested Loan Amount: $234,391
Minneapolis
Share of Purchase Mortgage Requests Coming from Millennials: 48%
Average Requested Loan Amount: $200,930
Pittsburgh
Share of Purchase Mortgage Requests Coming from Millennials: 48%
Average Requested Loan Amount: $128,316
Least popular cities among millennial home buyers
Tampa, Fla.
Share of Purchase Mortgage Requests Coming from Millennials: 30%
Average Requested Loan Amount: $174,301
Las Vegas
Share of Purchase Mortgage Requests Coming from Millennials: 31%
Average Requested Loan Amount: $224,736
Miami
Share of Purchase Mortgage Requests Coming from Millennials: 32%
Average Requested Loan Amount: $225,536
To view the full report, visit www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/most-popular-cities-millennial-homebuyers.
| 50 Largest Metros Ranked by Millennial Homebuying Popularity | ||||
Rank | Metro | Population 2017 | % of purchase requests from (<35) | Average age of buyers (<35) |
1 | Salt Lake City | 1,203,105 | 51% | 28 |
2 | Minneapolis | 3,600,618 | 48% | 28.5 |
3 | Pittsburgh | 2,333,367 | 48% | 28.4 |
4 | Buffalo, N.Y. | 1,136,856 | 46% | 28.4 |
5 | Denver | 2,888,227 | 45% | 28.9 |
6 | St. Louis | 2,807,338 | 45% | 28.5 |
7 | Kansas City, Mo. | 2,128,912 | 45% | 28.5 |
8 | Columbus, Ohio | 2,078,725 | 44% | 28.4 |
9 | Rochester, N.Y. | 1,077,948 | 44% | 28.4 |
10 | Cincinnati | 2,179,082 | 43% | 28.2 |
11 | Milwaukee | 1,576,236 | 43% | 28.7 |
12 | Indianapolis | 2,028,614 | 43% | 28.2 |
13 | Detroit | 4,313,002 | 43% | 28.3 |
14 | Cleveland | 2,058,844 | 43% | 28.4 |
15 | San Jose, Calif. | 1,998,463 | 43% | 29.6 |
16 | Seattle | 3,867,046 | 43% | 29 |
17 | Boston | 4,836,531 | 42% | 29 |
18 | Hartford, Conn. | 1,210,259 | 42% | 28.7 |
19 | Oklahoma City | 1,383,737 | 42% | 28.2 |
20 | Providence, R.I. | 1,621,122 | 42% | 28.7 |
21 | Nashville, Tenn. | 1,903,045 | 42% | 28.4 |
22 | Philadelphia | 6,096,120 | 42% | 28.9 |
23 | Chicago | 9,533,040 | 42% | 28.9 |
24 | Louisville, Ky. | 1,293,953 | 41% | 28.2 |
25 | Birmingham, Ala. | 1,149,807 | 40% | 28.4 |
26 | Washington | 6,216,589 | 40% | 29.2 |
27 | Richmond, Va. | 1,294,204 | 40% | 28.8 |
28 | Baltimore | 2,808,175 | 40% | 29 |
29 | Houston | 6,892,427 | 39% | 28.8 |
30 | Austin, Texas | 2,115,827 | 39% | 28.9 |
31 | Dallas | 7,399,662 | 39% | 28.8 |
32 | San Francisco | 4,727,357 | 39% | 29.8 |
33 | New Orleans | 1,275,762 | 39% | 28.8 |
34 | Virginia Beach, Va. | 1,725,246 | 38% | 28.6 |
35 | Charlotte, N.C. | 2,525,305 | 38% | 28.7 |
36 | Portland, Ore. | 2,453,168 | 38% | 28.7 |
37 | Raleigh, N.C. | 1,335,079 | 38% | 28.8 |
38 | Phoenix | 4,737,270 | 37% | 28.4 |
39 | Memphis, Tenn. | 1,348,260 | 37% | 28.9 |
40 | Los Angeles | 13,353,907 | 37% | 29.3 |
41 | Atlanta | 5,884,736 | 37% | 28.9 |
42 | Riverside, Calif. | 4,580,670 | 37% | 28.9 |
43 | New York | 20,320,876 | 37% | 29.4 |
44 | Jacksonville, Fla. | 1,504,980 | 36% | 28.7 |
45 | Sacramento, Calif. | 2,324,884 | 35% | 29.1 |
46 | San Diego | 3,337,685 | 35% | 29.2 |
47 | Orlando, Fla. | 2,509,831 | 34% | 28.7 |
48 | Miami | 6,158,824 | 32% | 29.1 |
49 | Las Vegas | 2,204,079 | 31% | 28.8 |
50 | Tampa, Fla. | 3,091,399 | 30% | 28.7 |
