Generation Z is disrupting the workplace. Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images
According to a LendingTree report, Salt Lake City has become the most popular city for Gen Z homebuyers.
Oklahoma City and Birmingham, Alabama are the next two most popular.
Expensive cities like San Francisco, New York and San Jose, California were least popular with Gen Z.
Generation Z is getting old enough to buy houses, and this generation is flocking to cheaper cities and avoiding the expensive coasts.
Americans face a housing market characterized by low inventories and high mortgage rates. At the same time, the adult members of Generation Z have grown up in a remote professional landscape, which has changed ideas about living and location.
This group, born between 1997 and 2012, accounted for an average of 14.91% of prospective homebuyers in the top 50 U.S. metropolitan areas in the 12 months ended December 31, 2022, according to a LendingTree report.
The analysis found that Salt Lake City had the highest proportion of Gen Z mortgage inquiries at 22.59%. A strong local job market and a mix of urban and rural amenities make it a hotspot.
The next two most popular cities included the relatively inexpensive Oklahoma City and Birmingham, Alabama, with mortgage inquiries coming in at 22.36% and 20.79%, respectively.
Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and St. Louis were other popular options for Gen Z homebuyers.
LendingTree
Meanwhile, San Francisco had the lowest percentage of Gen Z mortgage applications at 7.76%, according to LendingTree.
The second and third most popular cities, according to the report, were New York and San Jose, California, with 8.88% and 9.70%, respectively. Six of the ten least popular metropolitan areas for Gen Z shoppers are in California.
Average down payments from prospective Gen Z buyers varied wildly by city. For example, the average in San Jose was $77,786, while a down payment in Oklahoma City was $18,752.
Certainly, 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 metric falling 1.9% year over year, marking the first annual decline since 2012.
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