DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

High prices, limited inventory, job shortages and tight lending standards are making it a difficult time for Millennials looking to buy their first homes, but there are some markets out there that could still appeal to younger home buyers.

Realtor.com® identified 10 markets that are “primed and ready” for millennial home buyers this fall. Affordable home prices and increases in inventory in these areas could appeal to first-time buyers, which would help to improve the housing market by increasing construction and creating job and income growth. To be included on the list, markets had to report a Housing Affordability Index higher than 240 and increases in inventory month-to-month or year-over-year.

“Millennials are a critical component of the first-time home buyer market segment,” says Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com®. “Getting this segment functioning again is an absolute necessity for bringing the housing ecosystem back to full health.”

Millennials looking to buy their first homes will also benefit from a decrease in investor presence, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research for the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales to investors fell to 12 percent in August, the lowest rate in nearly five years.

“For first-time home buyers this means reduced competition and less all-cash offers in the marketplace,” Yun said.

The top 10 fall markets for millennial home buyers (in alphabetical order) are:

• Akron, Ohio
• Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.
• Charleston, W. Va.
• Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Mich.
• Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, Pa.
• Indianapolis, Ind.
• Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, Fla.
• Memphis, Tenn.
• Peoria-Pekin, Ill.
• Syracuse, N.Y.

Source: “Realtor.com® Data Reveals the Top 10 Fall Markets for Millennial Home Buyers,” (Sept. 29, 2014) Move.com