![\"Fresno](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image._6585.jpeg\" "\\"Fresno")
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Fresno saw a 104% increase in millennial homeowner households over a five-year period, RentCafe says.<\/p>\n
Konstantin Postumitenko<\/p>\n
Prostock-studio – stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
More millennials are buying homes \u2014 and Fresno has emerged as one of their favorite spots to settle down<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fresno ranked among the U.S. metropolitan areas that saw the biggest boosts in millennial homeowners in recent years, according to a new study by RentCafe.<\/p>\n The apartment search platform analyzed more than 100 metropolitan areas across the United States to determine which saw the most significant gains in millennial homeowners and renters<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMillennials<\/a> …. now clearly show a preference for certain homebuying hotspots,\u201d Alexandra Both, senior real estate writer and research analyst with RentCafe, wrote in a July 15 article.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s where millennials are purchasing property, and why:<\/p>\n Homeownership<\/a> is a goal shared by a growing number of millennials, defined by the Pew Research Center<\/a> as people born between 1981 and 1996.<\/p>\n Nationwide, approximately 5.3 million millennials became homeowners between 2018 and 2023, bringing the total to 12.4 million households, according to RentCafe.<\/p>\n That marked a 74% increase in millennial-owned households across the United States.<\/p>\n Millennial homeowners now outnumber renters in about three out of four metro areas favored by Generation Y, RentCafe said.<\/p>\n However, millennial homeowners have yet to completely outnumber millenial renters, who account for nearly 12.6 million households in the nation.<\/p>\n The number of millennial renters in the United States rose by 5% from 2018 to 2023, RentCafe found, an increase of roughly 600,000 households.<\/p>\n According to the RentCafe study, Fresno saw a 104% increase in millennial homeownership over a five-year period.<\/p>\n It ranked 12th in the nation in terms of metro areas with the biggest spikes in millennials buying homes.<\/p>\n In Fresno, the number of millennial homeowner households increased from 24,384 in 2018 to 49,742 in 2023, the study found.<\/p>\n Two other Central Valley cities saw big increases in millennial homeownership during the same five-year period.<\/p>\n Stockton ranked fourth in the nation in terms of millennial homeownership growth, while Oxnard was fifth.<\/p>\n According to the study, Stockton saw a 117.6% surge in millennial owner households from 2018 to 2023, growing from 17,333 Gen Y homeowners to 37,711.<\/p>\n During the same five-year period, millennial homeownership in Oxnard increased by 113.9%. There were 29,607 households owened by millennials in 2023, RentCafe said.<\/p>\n Why are millennials buying more homes in California?<\/p>\n According to RentCafe, small and mid-sized cities in California and Florida saw the most significant increases in millennials buying homes.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do all of these places have in common?\u201d Both asked. \u201cMore affordable home prices, manageable inflation, strong income growth and a higher quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n Smaller metro areas also benefited from COVID-19 pandemic-driven migration patterns<\/a>, RentCafe said, as millennials moved away from major cities in search of remote work opportunities and more physical space.<\/p>\n According to Veronica Grecu, a senior writer and research analyst at RentCafe, homeownership is on the rise among older members of Generation Y.<\/p>\n \u201cMany younger millennials had previously delayed buying a home due to student debt and high costs,\u201d she said. \u201cNow they\u2019re finding options that fit their budgets in a handful of affordable oases, like Stockton and Fresno, where housing costs are below the state average.\u201d<\/p>\n As of July 31, the average Fresno home was valued<\/a> at $390,993, according to the latest data available from real estate platform Zillow.<\/p>\n Approximately 5.3 million millennials became homeowners in the United States between 2018 and 2023, according to RentCafe. ToucanStudios Getty Images How many millennials own homes in the US? Rent?<\/p>\n
Fresno saw a 104% increase in millennial homeownership over a five-year period, RentCafe says. John Bazemore Associated Press file How much did millennial homeownership increase in Fresno?<\/p>\n