Millennial mortgage seekers slip in Portland
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Fewer Portland millennials are seeking mortgages to buy homes, and many are turning to family for help becoming homeowners.
Why it matters: Nearly three-quarters of aspiring homebuyers say affordability is the No. 1 obstacle to owning a house, per a Bankrate study.
What's happening: The number of millennials (ages 27 to 42) seeking mortgages this year is slowing down, according to data from LendingTree, an online financial platform that lets users compare mortgage deals.
- In the first half of 2022, nearly 52% of LendingTree's mortgage requests across the U.S. came from millennials. In the first half of 2023, that share dropped to roughly 50%.
- Portland saw a similar trend. Across the metro area millennials comprised nearly 56% of local mortgage requests early last year. But that figure fell to just over 54% in the first half of this year, per LendingTree.
Meanwhile, A Redfin report on "nepo-homebuyers" found 38% of recent buyers under age 30 received family money to afford their down payment.
Zoom in: Among U.S. millennials who don't already own a home, 44% said not having enough income was their No. 1 barrier to buying, Bankrate found.
- The next biggest obstacles were down payments and closing costs (43%) — which require money up front — and high home prices (42%).
- Only 21% of millennials said they were "just not ready" for homeownership yet.
The intrigue: Cash home sales have been rising again in Portland after a slow decline over the past decade and a steeper drop recently.
- Cash transactions climbed .7% between 2019 and 2022, approaching 25% of all home sales, according to ATTOM, a real estate data firm.
- The vast majority of cash purchases in Portland over that time period were by individuals rather than companies.
The latest: Housing industry groups are urging the Fed to stop raising interest rates as a way to combat a housing market that's tightened in Portland as rates have gone up.
Share this and let us know: Are you struggling to buy a home in Portland? How old are you? Did you get help from family, or tap retirement savings?