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5 Cities Where Millenials Might Have a Better Chance of Buying a Home: Report

By D. Ong /
Despite National Woes, Bay Area Housing Prices Hit New Highs
(Photo : (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)) A real estate agent views a home for sale with a list price over $2 million during a brokers tour May 17, 2007 in Kentfield, California. The San Francisco Bay Area has seen the median price for existing single family homes surge 6.6% to $720,000 while the national median home price dropped 0.9% to $215,300 in March. Marin County led the Bay Area surge with the median home price reaching a record high of $1,010,000, the first county in the state of California to surpass the million dollar mark.

The current housing market is tight, with a lack of available properties for purchase as baby boomers hold onto their homes, boxing out hopeful millennial homebuyers. 

At least 78% of baby boomers said they have no plans of downsizing and selling their homes as they grow older due to today's elevated mortgage rates. Additionally, 28% of three-bedroom-plus homes in the US are owned by empty-nest baby boomers. This has led to a lack of housing supply in the market, making it harder for millennials to buy affordable homes. 

However, there are some real estate marketplaces in the country where most homeowners are likely to sell their homes, per new research from real-estate marketplace Zillow. For the study, the firm identified 10.8 million homeowners who no longer had mortgages but could "comfortably afford" a new home at current rates, labeling them as the households best positions to move and sell their current home.

In addition, Zillow also identified households that were free from "rate lock-in." Across generations, 17% of baby boomers (aged 60 to 78) and 14% of the Silent Generation (aged 79 to 96) had the highest percentage of homeowners "free of rate lock-in."

With that in mind, here are the five cities Zillow said had the most number of homeowners primed to move and list their homes for sale. 

Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

New York Rangers v Philadelphia Flyers - Game Four
A general view of the Philadelphia city skyline prior to the game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers in Game Four of the First Round of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center on April 25, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Percentage of homeowners free of rate-lock: 27%

Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free: 341,063

Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free and mortgage-ready: 188,486

Buffalo, New York

US-LIFESTYLE-DAILY LIFE
People take pictures with the Manhattan Bridge in New York on November 30, 2023.
(Photo : ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Percentage of homeowners free of rate-lock: 23%

Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free: 160,048

Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free and mortgage-ready: 76,078

Cleveland, Ohio

Old house remodelling
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - FEBRUARY 18: People stop to look at San Francisco's famed Painted Ladies victorian houses on February 18, 2014 in San Francisco, California. According to a report by mortgage resource site HSH.com, an annual salary of $115,510 is needed to purchase a house in San Francisco where the median home price is $682,410. The report included 25 of the nations largest metropolitan cities with Cleveland, Ohio being the cheapest with a needed salary of $19,435 to purchase a home.
(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Percentage of homeowners free of rate-lock: 22%

Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free: 241,587

Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free and mortgage-ready: 123,707

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma v Texas
Part of the Dallas skyline is seen from behind the stands during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl on October 07, 2023 in Dallas, Texas.
(Photo: Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Percentage of homeowners free of rate-lock: 21%

Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free: 143,428

Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free and mortgage-ready: 70,763

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit Area Economy Worsens As Big Three Automakers Face Dire Crisis
The General Motors (GM) world headquarters building stands tallest amidst the Renaissance Center in the skyline of city's downtown on November 21, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan. As car and truck sales have plummeted across the country, large inventories are building at dealerships and factories. The Big Three U.S. automakers, General Motors (GM), Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC, failed after appearing this week in Washington to receive money after asking the government for federal funds to curb the decline of the American auto industry. The city of Detroit, home to the Big Three, would be hardest hit if the government allows these auto makers to fall into bankruptcy
(Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Percentage of homeowners free of rate-lock: 20%

Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free: 524,087

Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free and mortgage-ready: 239,813

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