Report: More Millennial Households Own Than Rent. Here’s Where They’re Buying. Article originally posted on AZ Central on April 10, 2023 Clarification: This story has been updated to make clear that RentCafe found that there are more millennial homeowner households than renter households based on data looking at 260 U.S. metropolitan areas. Skyrocketing home prices haven’t stopped millennials from buying real estate, allowing the cohort to finally switch over to having a greater share of homeowner households than renter households, according to a new report from RentCafe. RentCafe found nearly 52% of millennial households – which includes groups of people living together under one roof – owned a home in 2022 based on data looking at owner and renter households across 260 U.S. metropolitan areas. In order to be considered a millennial-owned household, at least one of the property’s owners had to be born between 1981 and 1996. The findings are based on data from Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, or IPUMS, part of the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation at the University of Minnesota. According to RentCafe, the number of millennial households that own their home in these areas jumped by 7 million over the past five years to 18.2 million in 2022, compared with 17.2 million millennial renter households. Despite the shift, baby boomers – those ages 59 to 77 this year – continue to dominate the housing market in these markets with 32 million homeowner households, according to the report.Gen Xers, who turn 43 to 58 this year, had more than 24 million homeowner households in their ranks. Real estate investment:What is a REIT? Homebuying: Here are the best lenders if you’re looking to purchase a home At what age are millennials buying homes? Compared with previous generations, it took millennials, ages 27 to 42 this year, longer to save enough to afford their first home. When millennial households became majority homeowners, the average age of a millennial was 34. The average Gen Xers passed the benchmark at 32, while the average boomer was 33, according to RentCafe. Millennials faced a number of challenges that stalled homeownership, including the Great Recession and student loan debt. But this generation has more recently had a number of economic factors working in their favor and are “now in their prime homebuying years,” according to RentCafe. Millennial households reached a historically high median income last year of $108,000, up 44% from 2017 and the highest increase among all generations, according to the report. The figure reflects the combined income of the millennial household owners. The report also notes that many millennials delayed moving out or moved back in with their parents during the pandemic, allowing them to save for a down payment. Others received financial support from family, friends, employers or an assistance program: A 2022 poll from data analytics firm YouGov found 51% of 30- to 44-year-old homeowners received financial help from their parents. Though millennials were able to grow their net worth during the COVID-19 pandemic, the generation also has faced wage stagnation, college tuition costs that have increased more than 1,300% since 1978, and housing costs that have outpaced inflation – all of which has made buying a home without assistance more difficult. What percentage of millennials are homeowners? RentCafe also created rankings based on IPUMS data looking at the nation’s 110 largest metropolitans. According to the findings, cities with some of the highest shares of millennial households that own instead of rent in 2022 include: Midland, Texas: 82% Provo, Utah: 76% Palm Bay, Florida: 75% Youngstown, Ohio: 74% Des Moines, Iowa: 73% Boise City, Idaho: 72% Portland, Maine: 72% North Port, Florida: 71% Columbia, South Carolina: 69% Greenville, South Carolina: 67% And here are some of the cities with the smallest share of millennial households that own: Salinas, California: 19% San Jose, California: 23% Asheville, North Carolina: 25% Chattanooga, Tennessee: 28% Los Angeles, California: 31% Sacramento, California: 32% San Diego, California: 32% Durham, North Carolina: 33% Urban Honolulu, Hawaii: 34% New York, New York: 34% Dig deeper: Millennials are flooding the housing market. But what (and where) are they buying? That depends. Nearly two-thirds of millennials have homebuyer regrets, survey says How Hispanic homeownership became a ‘driving force’ shaping the housing market’s future Selling your home? These are the trendy features that buyers will pay more for