A “Sale Pending” sign in front of a house in Pinole, California, U.S., Tuesday, December 26, 2023. Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. rose unexpectedly in November, led by a pickup in the South and marking a respite in a two-year decline due to rising costs. Borrowing and inventory shortages. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(Crohn's) – A Bay Area city has been named the most difficult for Gen Z to become homeowners, according to a Study by Point2 Released this month. Fremont has been named the worst U.S. city where Generation Z has the “chance to own a home.”
Fremont received an affordability score of 11.63 out of 100 for Gen Z* homebuyers.
Of the 102 cities analyzed, Fremont ranked third in “Home Price to Income Ratio” (22.8), fourth in inventory per 10,000 residents (6.4), and last in “Home Sold Above Price” (70.2%) and General Z Homeownership Rate (1.4%).
The median home price in Fremont is about $1.4 million, according to Zillow And PropertyShark.
San Jose was the other Bay Area city that ranked fifth. It received a score of 23.85, the fourth-worst score for Gen Z homeownership. The median home price in San Jose is about $1.3 million, according to Zillow.
No California city made the top 50 on the list.
Fort Wayne, Indiana ranked #1 as the most ideal city for someone from Generation Z to become a homeowner. It has a Gen Z affordability score of 84.20. Point2 analyzed 102 of the largest US cities based on 2021 Census estimates, the study said.
methodology
Point2 scored 100 of these US cities a score out of 100 of being the most affordable for Gen Z — the higher the score, the greater the chance that a member of Gen Z will become a homeowner in that city. The score was based on weighted averages of the following measures.
- House price to income ratio
- Average selling price changes year over year
- Gen Z homeownership rate (owner-occupied units where the household owner is under 25 years old out of total housing units occupied by people under 25 years old)
- Unemployment rate for those under 25 years old
- Inventory per 10,000 residents
- The share of homes sold above the list price
- Days on market (DoM)
“Lower unemployment means increased homeownership financing opportunities,” Point2 says. The higher the ownership rate for people under 25, the more likely that age group is to buy a home.
The study also used real estate sources such as Redfin, Zillow, Realtor, and PropertyShark. To read the full report from Point2, click here.
*Generation Z is defined as anyone born between 1997 and 2012, according to the Pew Research Center.
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