Owning a home is a major part of the American dream, and most young people still strive for homeownership despite uncertain economic conditions. However, the age at which people can purchase a home has increased in recent years, with a new survey from loan comparison platform LendingTree showing that just 3.1% of Americans younger than 30 have a mortgage nationwide.
These figures vary greatly when looking at specific metro areas. For instance, in Nashville, Tenn., 9.4% of people under 30 have home mortgage loans, and in Indianapolis, 8.4% of people under 30 have a mortgage. On the other hand, just 0.8% of those under 30 have a mortgage in San Jose, Calif., and in New York that percentage is just slightly higher at 1.2%.
Prospective buyers under 30 look for houses that only cost a quarter of the average price that older prospective buyers look at. Younger buyers on the LendingTree platform looked for mortgages to purchase homes in the 50 largest metros costing an average of $92,332 in 2024. That’s 74.9% lower than the average of $367,681 from older buyers. The trend was most pronounced in Providence, R.I., where younger buyers looked to mortgage homes 88.0% less costly than those of older buyers, followed by Charlotte, N.C. (86.1% cheaper), and San Francisco (84.1% cheaper). At the other end are Buffalo, N.Y. (58.0% cheaper), Milwaukee (58.5% cheaper) and Salt Lake City (60.9% cheaper). Read more