The National Association of Realtors identified 10 markets with favorable conditions for millennial homebuyers during the coronavirus pandemic. In alphabetical order, they are:
►Austin-Round Rock, Texas
►Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
►Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa
►Durham-Chapel Hill-Raleigh, N.C.
►Houston-The Woodlands, Texas
►Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.
►Omaha, Nebraska/Council Bluffs, Iowa
►Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.
►Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Wash.
►Salt Lake City, Utah
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Record-low mortgage rates have improved housing affordability, bringing more buyers into the market, and multiple offers for starter homes could become common in these metro areas,” said Lawrence Yun, the association's chief economist. “With relatively better employment conditions and a strong presence of millennials in these markets, more new home construction will be required to fully satisfy the housing demand as the economy reopens.”
The top 10 metro areas for millennial homebuyers were identified by analyzing current housing affordability, local job market conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, the share of millennials in the area and inventory availability in the largest 100 metropolitan statistical areas across the country.
“Nationally, millennials make up the largest share of homebuyers and these metropolitan areas, in particular, offer great opportunities to realize the dream of homeownership,” said the association's president Vince Malta. “As states and cities begin to reopen, millennials will play a significant role in the housing market’s recovery.”
The 10 markets listed had a smaller share of workers, on average, in industries most affected by the pandemic-induced economic lockdown. For example, in Durham and Des Moines, 15% and 17% of employees, respectively, work in industries at high risk from coronavirus. The average for the largest 100 metropolitan areas is 21%.
Another common factor among these markets is better-than-average inventory availability. For Des Moines and Omaha, the number of active listings in April 2020 increased by 5% and 1%, respectively, according to Realtor.com. However, inventory declined 18% on average in the largest 100 metro areas.
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