A Triangle town is named a ‘homebuying haven’ for Gen Z. NC housing experts respond

Kimberly Cataudella Tutuska
·4 min read

A new report ranked Durham the 7th best city in the United States for Gen Z to have a chance at homeownership, but local housing experts aren’t quite as bullish on the area’s affordability.

Point2Homes, a media company that produces real estate trend reports and studies, said Durham is among the “Gen Z homebuying havens.” The report defines Gen Z as adults under 25 years of age.

Cities like Durham “put homeownership more within reach of young people, mostly due to home price-to-income ratios, convenient number of days on the market and lower unemployment rates among adults under 25,” Point2Homes said.

You can read the full report at point2homes.com/news.

“The report presents the ‘chance,’ but it doesn’t measure or mention who is getting that chance,” said Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, director of housing policy at the NC Housing Coalition.

“Although there might be a chance for folks in Gen Z in very particular situations, there’s still a significant level of challenges to get into the housing market, and that makes it really difficult to be accessible for more folks in different income levels.”

Durham among best places for Gen Z to buy a house, report says

The top 10 cities in Point2’s rankings are:

  1. Fort Wayne, Indiana

  2. Corpus Christi, Texas

  3. Detroit, Michigan

  4. Laredo, Texas

  5. Memphis, Tennessee

  6. Lincoln, Nebraska

  7. Durham, North Carolina

  8. Fort Worth, Texas

  9. Aurora, Colorado

  10. Scottsdale, Arizona

On the top 100 list, other NC cities include Charlotte (#27), Greensboro (#28), Raleigh (#43) and Winston-Salem (#44).

Yet in the fall, a report from real estate company RentCafe said Raleigh tops the nation with the largest share of Gen Z-ers still living at home with family members.

Seven of the most difficult cities for Gen Z to reach homeownership, according to Point2Homes, are in California. Of the top 10, others are Lexington, Kentucky; Richmond, Virginia, and Newark, New Jersey.

Is homeownership an easy feat in Durham?

Here’s what Durham’s numbers say:

  • Home ownership: A little more than 55% of residents own their home in Durham county, and median monthly owner costs come to about $1,650, according to 2023 Census numbers. Gen Z’s homeownership rate in Durham is 11.5%, per Point2Homes.

  • Income: Median household income is just about $75,000 with 11% of the country living in poverty, per Census data.

  • Home sales: Homes in Durham are selling for about 4.3% more than they were in 2022, Point2Homes says, and homes are on the market for about 38 days.

  • Listing prices: Over 37% of sales are over the listing price, per Point2Homes. The median listing price is just about $400,000, Zillow says.

“We’re seeing 37.3% of homes are sold over asking price. The people who are ultimately going to be able to get those homes have to have some sort of leg up, whether that’s an extremely high income or generational wealth,” Watkins-Cruz said.

“The report’s metrics are very quantitative, but how can you capture the fact that someone can inherit or receive, let’s say, a $50,000 loan from a family member, while North Carolina’s down payment assistance programs are typically between $5,000 and $15,000?”

There are more programs at the state and local level that can provide additional assistance, she added, including through the NC Housing Finance Agency and by the city of Durham itself.

“This, I think, is a good example of just how much is needed for someone to buy a home,” she said.

Aalayah Sanders, communications manager for Durham Housing Authority, mentioned down payment assistance programs as a helpful resource for young wannabe homeowners, though Durham’s increasing cost of living keeps it challenging to get your foot in the door.

“It’s become increasingly difficult to obtain temporary rental housing and [have] homeownership opportunities for Millennials like myself,” Sanders said.

Report methodology

Point2Homes ranked the feasibility of homeownership in the country’s 100 major cities on the following seven metrics:

  • Home price-to-income ratio

  • Median sale price difference

  • Inventory

  • Share of homes sold above listing price

  • Days on market

  • Homeownership rate

  • Unemployment rate

The data used to conduct the study came from “international data, public records, governmental sources, online research and other reliable third-party sources,” Point2Homes wrote in their report.

For more information, visit point2homes.com/news.

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