Akron, Buffalo and Charlston Neighborhoods Ideal for Millenials

Akron, Ohio, Buffalo, New York, and Charlston, West Virginia are named the top three fall markets that are the most ideal for millenials, a generation of young adults born in the 1980s and 1990s, a report on WKBW.com said.

Citing research from Realtor.com, the report said that homes in these areas are priced reasonably within the generation’s budget. Buffalo, for example, which ranked second on the list, has median home prices pegged at $145,000, which is one-third of the median income millenials earn in the city, stated the WKBW.com report.

Meanwhile, Akron, Ohio, which ranked first on the report, saw median home listing prices at $119,900. Charleston, West Virginia, which is third, recorded a median listing price of $146,450 per home.

The markets were chosen based on two key strengths: affordable home prices and rising inventory rates. To make it to the list, these markets had to report a Housing Affordability Index of above 240, and exhibit a month-over-month or year-over-year increase in home listings.

Realtor.com said that its study, Top 10 Fall Markets for Millennial Home Buyers list, released Wednesday, revealed a gap between the said housing trends and the trends reflected in the company’s August National Housing Trend Report “of strong prices and limited inventory.” It noted that some markets remained favorable for millennial home buyers this fall. 

“Millennials were hit the hardest by recession layoffs and job shortages, and many are still facing the financial aftermath of the downturn including reduced wages and depleted savings,” Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com, said in a statement.

But according to Smoke, home shopping activities are rising in the segment as homes become more affordable.

“Monthly mortgage affordability and 20 percent down payments have become especially difficult as home prices increase. The neighborhoods on our list offer plenty of opportunity for millennials looking to get into the market in the next few months. Not only are first timers more likely to be able to afford homes in these areas, less competition in these markets means they are more likely to have their offers accepted,” he added.

Millenials are also benefiting from the diminishing presence of investors in the local housing market, according to Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors (NAR) chief economist and senior vice president of research. Yun stated that August sales to investors were down to 12 percent, “the lowest we’ve seen in nearly five years.”

As a result, first-time home buyers, especially those hailing from the millennial generation, had less competition.

As home investing opportunities arise for millenials, real estate agents in the field can definitely benefit from disruptive technologies to market their listings to this emerging pool of buyers. Realbiz Media Group, Inc. RBIZ a Florida-based digital media company that develops proprietary video marketing software that agents and their brokers can use to promote their virtual tour listings online.

Realtors can make use of the company’s listing platform Nestbuilder.com, which makes a great platform for hosting their virtual tour listings and personalized agent profiles, as they build their network. Moreover, Nestbuilder.com’s agent and listing pages feature a contact form and social media buttons which allow agents to connect with consumers easily. Nestbuilder.com is a consumer site based on Realbiz Media’s patented marketing technology Nestbuilder Agent.

Realbiz Media’s platforms, applications and web sites feature social integration, which allow agents to cross-publish their posts to social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

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