Magnet for millennials
Affordable housing is among the reasons for Houston’s high ranking in a survey.
Houston’s young population, job prospects and affordable homes helped it edge out other places as a top city for millennials, according to realtor.com.
“Houston is extremely affordable relative to other metros,” said Javier Vivas, manager of economic research for realtor. com.
“That’s really driving millennials to look into Houston as a place to find the entry level homes.”
Houston was ranked fifth on the website’s list of Top Cities for Millennials, released last week. Also on the list, in order: Salt Lake City, Miami, Orlando, Fla., Seattle, Los Angeles, Buffalo, N.Y., Albany, N.Y., San Francisco and San Jose, Calif.
Realtor.com compiled the list by analyzing the share of millennial page views on its real estate site in 60 of the largest markets.
Like other cities, Houston’s close-in neighborhoods are drawing millennials who like being near downtown, the realty website found. It cited the Heights, Oak Forest and Timbergrove neighborhoods as hot spots for their proximity to trendy restaurants, shops and craft breweries.
Even if millennials can’t afford to buy in these locations, they like to look there, Vivas said.
San Antonio ranked No. 23, Dallas was No. 26., and Austin was No. 39.
“In places like Austin, there’s not enough inventory at the right price point for the young cohort, so they are looking elsewhere,” Vivas said.
In the Houston area, 14.5 percent of the population is made up of millennials, ages 25 to 34. That compares with 13 percent for the U.S. overall.
Houstonians spend 36.1 percent of their income to own a home, slightly more than No. 4 Seattle at 35.6 percent, but well below No. 2 Miami at 49 percent. The most affordable cities on the list were Buffalo (22.7 percent), Albany (27.3 percent) and Salt Lake City (30 percent).