Housing News

Gen Z are Buying the Most Homes in These 10 Cities

Despite how expensive it’s become to purchase a home, more Generation Z buyers are becoming homeowners.

These buyers, with the oldest members of this generation turning 28 this year, are purchasing homes in the Midwest and the South, according to a recent study from CoreLogic, a real estate data firm.

Gen Z bought the highest percentage of properties in the more affordable Des Moines, Iowa and Omaha, Neb. metropolitan areas.

“However, it is not unexpected that most of them are purchasing homes in the South and Midwest, which have lower median home prices compared to other regions,” said CoreLogic economist Archana Pradhan. “[That makes] them more affordable for young homebuyers.”

Members of Gen Z accounted for 13% of mortgage applications to buy homes in 2024, according to CoreLogic. That was up three percentage points from 2023. (This didn’t include investors, second-home buyers, or cash buyers.)

“Given the affordability challenges, it was a little bit higher than I thought it would be,” said Pradhan.

Where are members of Gen Z buying the most homes?

Generation Z buyers put in the highest percentage of mortgage applications in metropolitan areas where the typical home was priced under $310,000. This was according to a CoreLogic analysis of the 100 largest metropolitan areas.

They put in the highest share of mortgage applications in the metropolitan areas of Des Moines, at 21%, and Omaha, also at 21%. (Metros include the main city and surrounding towns, suburbs, and smaller urban areas.)

Younger buyers were also more successful in the South - and, as expected, super-pricey San Jose, Calif, in Silicon Valley; San Francisco, Oxnard, Calif.; Los Angeles; Honolulu; and Bridgeport, Conn.

“In general, Gen Z applicants in high-cost areas had higher income and lower loan-to-value ratios compared with Gen Z applicants in affordable areas,” Pradhan said. Lower loan-to-value ratios meant they were putting more money down and using mortgages for less of the purchase.

She said that Gen Z demand for homeownership is expected to remain “robust” in the coming years as more members age into prime homebuying years.

And if mortgage interest rates do go down, even slightly, “it’s highly likely that we see an uptick in Gen Z applicants,” said Pradham.

Top 10 metros for Gen Z homebuyers

These metros had the highest percentage of mortgage applications from Gen Z applicants:

1. 1. Des Moines, Iowa: 21%
   2. Omaha, Neb.: 21%
   3. Youngstown, Ohio: 20%
   4. Dayton, Ohio: 20%
   5. Grand Rapids, Mich.: 20%
   6. Little Rock, Ark. 19%
   7. Birmingham, Ala.: 19%
   8. Cincinnati: 19%
   9. Jackson, Miss.: 19%
   10. Wichita, Kan.: 19%