Salt Lake City has become the most popular city for Gen Z homebuyers, a LendingTree report found. Oklahoma City and Birmingham, Alabama, are the next two most popular. Expensive cities like San Francisco, New York, and San Jose, California, were the least popular among Gen Z. Loading Something is loading.
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Gen Z is becoming old enough to buy houses, and that generation is flocking to more affordable cities and avoiding the expensive coasts.
Americans face a housing market characterized by low inventory and high mortgage rates. At the same time, adult Gen Zers have come of age in a remote-friendly professional landscape, altering beliefs about housing and location.
This group, born between 1997 and 2012, accounted for an average of 14.91% of potential homebuyers in the 50 largest US metro areas in the 12 months through December 31, 2022, according to a LendingTree report.
Salt Lake City had the largest share of mortgage requests from Gen Zers at 22.59%, the analysis found. A strong local jobs market and a blend of urban and rural amenities make it a hot spot.
The next two most popular cities included the relatively inexpensive Oklahoma City and Birmingham, Alabama, with mortgage requests hovering at 22.36% and 20.79%, respectively.
Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and St. Louis were among other popular choices for Gen Z homebuyers.
LendingTree Meanwhile, San Francisco saw the smallest proportion of mortgage requests by Gen Zers at 7.76%, LendingTree said.
The second and third least popular cities, per the report, were New York and San Jose, California, at 8.88% and 9.70%, respectively. Six of the least popular 10 metros for Gen Z buyers are in California.
Average down payments among potential Gen Z buyers varied widely based on city. The average in San Jose, for example, was $77,786, whereas a down payment Oklahoma City was $18,752.
To be sure, owning a home in the current market may not offer the value it did in years past. CoreLogic data shows that the average US homeowner with a mortgage had less home equity in the first quarter, with the measure slipping 1.9% from a year ago in the first annual decline since 2012.