The Most Popular Cities For Millennial Homebuyers According To LendingTree

The most popular cities for Millennial homebuyers will surprise you. LendingTree recently looked at this largest group of homebuyers in the country. The deep dive analyzed mortgage purchase requests on the LendingTree platform across the country’s 50 largest metros.

Key findings from the report include the most popular cities, the least popular cities, and where the youngest Millennial buyers move to. LendingTree’s Chief Economist and Vice President Tendayi Kapfidze looks at the report’s results. “We found the top cities were attractive to those older millennials with high-paying jobs in the tech industry,” explains Kapfidze.  

Two of the most popular cities San Jose and Boston are among the country’s most expensive to buy a home.  It’s no surprise Millennials are the majority of buyers in those cities thanks to tech-based economies and high-paying jobs.

Millennials in San Jose which ranked number one had the highest down payment amounts at $158,040. Those borrowers had the highest average requested loan amount of $704,318. The current home value in the San Jose metro is $1,275,627.

Moving East to Boston a long-time tech hub for Millennials, many of whom went to school in the Boston area and stayed. At number two the typical home in Boston is currently above $1 million. “Tech companies attract younger and wealthier workers that can afford these expensive cities,” Kapfidze observes.

Denver which came in at number three on the most popular metros rankings is a far more affordable market for Millennials. LendingTree’s borrower stats confirm this. The average loan requested from Millennial Denver homebuyers was $354,433. Denver metro’s average home value is $474,618.

Warm weather doesn’t attract Millennials to buy in Las Vegas, Tampa, or Phoenix. LendingTree ranks those metros as the least popular cities for homebuyers.  Too bad since home values there are certainly more affordable than the most popular metros.

Look at Las Vegas where typical home values are right at $224,259. Tampa prices are a bit higher at $250,431. Phoenix has the highest values of the three metros at $321,359.

Kapfidze has a different opinion on the urban flight to the suburbs than the headlines of the summer and spring. “With Millennials as the largest home buying segment, our mid-December data isn’t showing people fleeing those urban cores.”  

Following Millennial buying trends is a good look into the country’s current real estate market.