Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia region became a homebuying hot spot for millennials in recent years.<\/p>\n
The number of millennial households that own their homes in the Philadelphia area almost doubled between 2018 and 2023, outpacing the generation\u2019s homeownership growth in every other major metropolitan area in the Northeast, according to an analysis by RentCafe<\/a>.<\/p>\n In that five-year period, homeownership among Philadelphia-area millennial households jumped roughly 92%<\/a>, from about 201,000 to about 386,000, according to the nationwide apartment search website.<\/p>\n That\u2019s higher growth than the 74% increase nationally. In RentCafe\u2019s analysis of 107 metro areas with the biggest populations of millennial households, the Philadelphia region ranked 17th for its jump in millennial homeownership. And among metros with at least 100,000 millennial households in 2023, it ranked seventh.<\/p>\n \u201cPhiladelphia stands out because it\u2019s unique in the Northeast,\u201d said Doug Ressler, manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix, RentCafe\u2019s sister company.<\/p>\n He points to the Philadelphia area\u2019s combination of positive characteristics. Compared to many other markets, the region has lower home prices, stronger job opportunities, and good wage growth, Ressler said.<\/p>\n It also has a good supply of starter homes<\/a>, which he called \u201ckey.\u201d Rowhouses in particular \u201cprovide an entry point for homeowners at a price you can\u2019t find anywhere else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Coastal areas are popular among millennials \u2014 people born from 1981 to 1996<\/a>. But \u201cmillennials in many coastal markets remain locked out of homeownership,\u201d Ressler said. The Philadelphia region\u2019s relative affordability gives renters a chance to become homeowners.<\/p>\n