 nar identifies top 10 housing markets for millennials during the pandemic nar identifies top 10 housing markets for millennials during the pandemic admin thu 5212020 2346 top 10 housing markets for millennials bob goldberg speaks with the department of labor secretary on association health plans and the department s new association retirement plan rule bob goldberg was selected to speak on behalf of america s realtors working as independent contractors during a conversation with us department of labor secretary eugene scalia focused on association health plans and the department s new association retirement plan rule washington june 4 2020 the national association of realtors identified 10 markets with favorable conditions for millennial homebuyers during the coronavirus pandemic in alphabetical order the markets are austinround rock texas dallasfort wortharlington texas des moineswest des moines iowa durhamchapel hillraleigh north carolina houstonthe woodlands texas indianapoliscarmelanderson indiana omaha nebraska council bluffs iowa phoenixmesascottsdale arizona portland oregon vancouver washington salt lake city utah recordlow mortgage rates have improved housing affordability bringing more buyers into the market and multiple offers for starter homes could become common in these metro areas said nar s chief economist lawrence yun with relatively better employment conditions and a strong presence of millennials in these markets more new home construction will be required to fully satisfy the housing demand as the economy reopens nar identified the top 10 metro areas for millennial homebuyers by analyzing current housing affordability local job market conditions during the coronavirus pandemic the share of millennials in the area and inventory availability in the largest 100 metropolitan statistical areas across the country nationally millennials make up the largest share of homebuyers and these metropolitan areas in particular offer great opportunities to realize the dream of homeownership said nar president vince malta broker at malta co inc in san francisco ca as states and cities begin to reopen millennials will play a significant role in the housing market s recovery nationwide the typical household can afford to buy 40 of the homes currently listed for sale compared to 34 a year earlier according to the realtors affordability distribution score a collaboration between the national association of realtors and realtorcom the score measures the affordability of current forsale homes overall as well as at different income levels in these top 10 markets affordability increased more this year than it did nationwide for example a household earning 100000 in dallas can afford to buy 56 of homes currently listed for sale compared to 45 last year according to april 2020 employment data employment declined by an average of nearly 13 in the largest 100 metro areas compared to last year however in dallas houston salt lake city and phoenix employment dropped 8 from a year earlier the 10 markets listed had a smaller share of workers on average in industries most affected by the pandemicinduced economic lockdown for example in durham and des moines 15 and 17 of employees respectively work in industries at high risk from coronavirus the average for the largest 100 metropolitan areas is 21 another common factor among these markets is betterthanaverage inventory availability for des moines and omaha the number of active listings in april 2020 increased by 5 and 1 respectively according to realtorcom however inventory declined 18 on average in the largest 100 metro areas three in 10 residents in these markets 30 are millennials with millennials making up the largest cohort of homebuyers these areas are expected to see many of their millennial residents become homeowners to view nar s top 10 most favorable areas for millennials during the pandemic report visit https wwwnarrealtor researchandstatistics researchreports top10mostfavorableareasformillennialsduringthepand  june is national homeownership month and nar encourages current and future homeowners to visit https homeownershipmattersrealtor  or search creatinghome to learn more about the benefits of owning a home as well as policies and programs that promote homeownership the national association of realtors is america s largest trade association representing more than 14 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries title carousel header button carousel content pending home sales rise 15 in september that s who we r shiny new deals for realtors  locations close to public transit boost residential commercial real estate values image  