--- title: 10 Cities Where Gen Zers Have the Best Shot at Buying Homes in 2024 description: The best cities for Gen Zers who want to buy homes in 2024 include Detroit, Memphis, Durham, NC, and Laredo and Fort Worth, Texas. authors: - name: Mary Ellen Cagnassola role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/ bio: Mary Ellen (M.E.) Cagnassola is a former Money reporter who specialized in U.S. rent and real estate, with a focus on market trends and affordability. education: Rutgers University, BA Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 205 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes former_staff: true editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2024-01-19T19:02:25.000Z' modified: '2024-01-19T19:02:25.000Z' section: Housing tags: - News word_count: 742 canonical: https://money.com/best-cities-gen-z-buy-homes/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Durham, North Carolina](https://img.money.com/2024/01/News-Top-Ten-Cities-Gen-Z-Afford-Houses.jpg) *Durham, North Carolina* Gen Z is making gains in homeownership amid mounting affordability challenges for buyers — and some are even ahead of previous generations. Although the growth of Gen Z’s homeownership rate slowed in 2023, these housing market newcomers are still managing to put down roots. More than a quarter of Gen Zers between 19 and 25 owned a home last year, according to recent [report](https://www.redfin.com/news/homeownership-rate-by-generation-2023/) from real estate brokerage Redfin. That’s a bit better than how Gen Xers and millennials were doing when they were in that age range. It’s also a pretty big flex when you consider that adult Gen Zers have had to contend with factors like inflation, climbing [mortgage rates](https://money.com/current-mortgage-rates/) and record-breaking home prices over the past few years. Where is Gen Z able to make such impressive homebuying achievements when costs are so expensive? A separate [analysis](https://www.point2homes.com/news/us-real-estate-news/gen-z-homebuying-havens.html) from real estate site Point2Homes found that cities in the Midwest and South offer some key advantages for young home shoppers. ## Gen Z homeownership Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, Redfin found that roughly 26.3% of Gen Zers between 19 and 25 owned a home in 2023. While that rate is pretty much unchanged from the previous year’s 26.2%, Gen Zers in this range are still outpacing the last two generations. The homeownership rate for 24-year-old Gen Zers is 27.8%, while only 24.5% of Gen Xers and 23.5% of millennials could say the same at that age. This may be surprising given the plethora of challenges Americans in general have experienced since 2020: namely, COVID-era economic turmoil, a homebuying frenzy that sent prices and competition soaring, skyrocketing inflation, all-time-high U.S. consumer debt levels more home price increases and surging interest rates. Big yikes. Given the circumstances, you might assume that the youngest adults would be tracking behind their predecessors on the homeownership front. But according to Redfin, record-low mortgage rates during the earlier months of the pandemic gave Gen Z a window to purchase homes. Where are these homeowners primarily living? The analysis from Point2Homes found that North Las Vegas, Nevada, and Chesapeake Virginia — where about 1 in 3 Gen Z residents own a home — have the highest young homeownership rates of all the major cities in the U.S. “Gen Zers have done their research. They know all of the real estate jargon and are entering the housing market more educated than prior generations,” Redfin Premier agent Jon Byram said in the report. **"**My youngest buyers handled the pandemic homebuying frenzy the best.” Young [first-time buyers](https://money.com/first-time-buying-home-checklist/) are also making their homeownership dreams come true by getting financial help from family members and co-buying with them, Byram adds. Some have savings from living at home instead of renting. Bear in mind that older members of Gen Z haven't fared as well as the younger adults in their generation in terms of buying homes. The homeownership rate for 26-year-old Gen Zers is 30%, slightly below that of millennials and Gen Xers when they were the same age. Overall, Redfin Chief Economist Darly Fairweather said in the report that “things are looking up for Gen Z" in 2024. Affordability is expected to improve slightly for everyone as mortgage rates, rents and home price growth cool, finally giving some sidelined buyers an opportunity to get a foot in the door. “Plus, the job market is strong, and career opportunities have become less concentrated in expensive cities during the remote work era, meaning many Gen Zers can choose to live somewhere more affordable,” Fairweather says. ## Don't have the 20% down? No worries! ### With an FHA loan from Rocket Loans (NMLS #3030), you can purchase your first home with a down payment as low as 3.5%. Click below to see if you qualify today! [VIEW RATES](https://money.com/pr/x931b62b40e8?ap_referrer=%2Fbest-cities-gen-z-buy-homes%2F) ## Top 10 cities for Gen Z to buy homes Cities in the Midwest and South make up the most of the list of places where Gen Zers may find homeownership more accessible, according to the analysis from Point2Homes. That’s mostly thanks to favorable home price-to-income ratios, lower unemployment rates among adults under 25 and the number of days homes tend to stay on the market in these areas. These are the top 10 metropolitan areas where it could be easier for Gen Zers to become homeowners: 1. Fort Wayne, Indiana 2. Corpus Christi, Texas 3. Detroit, Michigan 4. Laredo, Texas 5. Memphis, Tennessee 6. Lincoln, Nebraska 7. Durham, North Carolina 8. Fort Worth, Texas 9. Aurora, Colorado 10. [Scottsdale, Arizona](https://money.com/collection/best-places-to-live-2021/5746504/scottsdale-arizona-2021/) — no. 9 on Money's list of [Best Places to Live](https://money.com/best-places-to-live/) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/26681/medium_57f09f10-efb8-487d-a73e-5f7d605144eb.png) Imagine finally owning your dream home — Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) can help! 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