While the overall number of first-time homebuyers continues to decline, one segment of the population is bucking the trend. Young people ranging in age from their late teens to mid-30s, known as millennials, are the largest and fastest growing group of homebuyers, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Instead of converted industrial spaces and hip coffee shops in city centers, these young people are opting instead for older single-family homes with manicured lawns and soccer leagues in the suburbs.
The median age of millennials, 30, is the driving force behind this trend. “This is typically the time in life where one settles down to marry and raise a family,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. And these buyers are choosing the suburbs over the city, he adds, because of a shortage of condos in urban centers fitting their entry-level price range. “Affordability pressures make buying in the city extremely difficult for most young households,” he says. “Even if an urban setting is where they’d like to buy their first home, the need for more space at an affordable price is for the most part pushing their search further out.”
Source: Council of Residential Specialists
Michael Caruso is a long time member of the Council of Residential Specialists, designation CRS
mcaruso@surterreproperties.com
Caruso Luxury Real Estate Blog 
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