Millennials continue to make their way inland in search of affordable housing, with Minneapolis, Minn. experiencing the most millennial home-buying activity this fall, according to October data from Ellie Mae’s Millennial Tracker, a measure of millennial mortgage applications. Based on the data, Philadelphia, Pa., St. Louis, Mo., Chicago, Ill., and Detroit, Mich., comprised the top five cities for millennial homebuyers in October.
“As housing prices continue to rebound, millennials are increasingly representing a higher percentage of homeowners in the middle of the country,” said Joe Tyrrell, executive vice president of Corporate Strategy at Ellie Mae, in a statement.
Millennial borrowers’ FICO credit scores, on average, were 722, according to the data. The Midwest has shown marked improvement in credit overall, more so than any other region in the country.
Millennial homebuyers, especially in the Midwest, are also affording more than they were just six months ago, with the average appraised value up from $212,939 in June to $223,153 in October.
Profiling millennial homebuyers, the Tracker shows approximately half of millennial borrowers, with an average age of 28.7, were single and half were married—a near-even split that underscores the growing trend toward single homeownership. Millennial men, however, were more likely than millennial women to be the primary borrower.
More than three-quarters of closed loans for millennials were purchases, while 22 percent were refinances, according to the data. The average loan amount was $184,733.
California and Florida experienced the least millennial home-buying activity this fall, with the Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan areas comprising the top five on the other end of the spectrum.
Source: Ellie Mae
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