Tag Archives: millenial

Women, Millennials, and Hispanics Will Shape the Future of Housing

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– Ten of the top 20 and seven of the top 10 fastest-growing buyer first names are predominantly millennial female names

– Home deeds with predominantly millennial first names grew 5.3 percent year-over-year

– Home sales associated with traditionally Hispanic first names increased 4.1 percent year-over-year

Santa Clara, CA – Jan. 9, 2019 (PRNewswire) The future of real estate will be significantly influenced by women, millennials and Hispanics, according to realtor.com®’s analysis of first names on 2018 home sales deeds.

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Single women are one of the fastest-growing demographics in the housing market, according to the data. Although older Baby Boomer and Silent Generation women are leading the charge, the increase in deeds with female names is particularly visible when comparing genders within the millennial generation. Looking solely at names with a peak year between 1981 and 1997, millennial female names are outpacing millennial male names, with home sales with female names beating male name home sales by 1.5 percent (6.9 percent versus 4.4 percent on average year-over-year, respectively). Seven of the top 10 fastest growing buyer names are predominately millennial female names, and all of them peak in the 1980s and 1990s.

Overall, Hannah, Austin, Alexis, Logan, and Taylor — of which three are predominantly female names — were the top five fastest growing first names on home sales deeds in 2018, with their frequency seeing an average increase of 22 percent from 2017. While Michael, John, David, James, and Robert were still the top five first names on sale deeds by sheer volume, these names saw a 3 to 5 percent decline over 2017.

“First names associated with women — especially millennial women — saw a significantly faster level of home sales growth in 2018, giving us a sneak peek of homeownership trends in 2019,” said Javier Vivas, director of economics research at realtor.com®. “Hispanics and millennials names overall also saw a surge in home purchases last year. If these buyers can continue to break through the affordability barrier, they are likely to make up a larger share of owners than ever before and dominate the market for years to come.”

Back-To-School Infographic (PRNewsfoto/realtor.com)

Back-To-School Infographic (PRNewsfoto/realtor.com)

Millennials are NOT the rent generation
In 2018, home sales with millennial names(1) increased 5.3 percent, followed by Gen X names at 0.8 percent. Names of Boomers (born 1946 to 1964) and the Silent Generation (born before 1945) fell 2 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

Geographically, millennial buyer names are particularly overrepresented in Kansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, and Utah – states where housing affordability remains above national levels – confirming that jobs and availability of entry level homes act as magnets for young buyers.

The rise of Hispanic influence
Deed data also shows a growth in Hispanic names. In 2018, home sales associated with traditionally Hispanic names and partially Hispanic names increased 4.1 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively year-over-year. While sales with non-Hispanic names remained virtually flat at 0.1 percent year-over-year.

Notably, 26 of the top 100 fastest-growing names are traditionally of Hispanic origin. Within this category, Hispanic buyer names skew slightly older than their non-Hispanic counterparts, with a median birth year of 1979 and 1982 respectively.

Geographically, Hispanic buyer names are naturally concentrated in the South and Southwest. California, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona are among the top states, unsurprising given their proximity to Central America. On the East Coast, sales to buyers with Hispanic names are overrepresented in Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey, where demand for homes from domestic and international buyers of South American and Caribbean origin tends to be concentrated.

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Methodology
This analysis looks at all arms-length, residential non-corporate transactions for the period of January through September 2018. Sales for 2017 are also analyzed to enable year-over-year comparisons.

Realtor.com® compared name demographic data from the Social Security Administration to deed record buyer information to understand how younger age groups are expanding their influence in the housing market. For example, the data showed that half of Hannahs were born before 1993, and 80 percent of them between 1987 and 1997, thus giving Hannah a high likelihood of being a millennial buyer. Millennial names are identified as those peaking between 1981 and 1997, Gen-X names between 1965 and 1980, Boomer names between 1946 and 1964 and Silent names before 1946.

Buyer names are identified by parsing the first name from the primary name on the deed record at the time of the transfer of ownership. Middle names and last names are not parsed. In cases when the deed has more than one buyer name recorded, the information is used to identify multi-name deeds but non-primary names are not parsed. Some limitations include home buyers not always going by their first name and not all names listed as primary are necessarily being heads of the household.

For more details on methodology, visit www.realtor.com.

About realtor.com®
Realtor.com®, The Home of Home Search℠, offers an extensive inventory of for-sale and rental listings, and access to information, tools and professional expertise that help people move confidently through every step of their home journey. It pioneered the world of digital real estate 20 years ago, and today is the trusted resource for home buyers, sellers and dreamers by making all things home simple, efficient and enjoyable. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. under a perpetual license from the National Association of REALTORS®. For more information, visit realtor.com®.

1. The birth year for all five fastest-growing primary buyer names peaked in the early 1990s, with an estimated median year of 1993. All but one of the top 20 fastest-growing names peaked between the 1980s and 1990’s, with an estimated median year of 1989. The one exception is Victoria, a timeless name that peaked once in the 1950s and again in the early 1990s.

Media Contact:

Lexie Puckett
Lexie.Puckett@move.com

Better Mortgage/Urban Institute Study Reveals Obstacles to Millennial Homeownership

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Race, intergenerational factors and shifting attitudes about homeownership are key factors

New York, NY – July 11, 2018 (BUSINESS WIRE) Today, the Urban Institute, made possible by a grant from Better Mortgage, has published a study on Millennial homeownership, the results of which have broad-based consequences for both a private sector industry trying to modernize and a public sector with antiquated policies. Better Mortgage, a digital mortgage company trying to make homeownership an option for more people, chose the Urban Institute to conduct this research because of their phenomenal dedication to elevating the debate on social and economic policy.

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In this report, arguably the most definitive study of its kind, Millennials were found to face several obstacles to homeownership compared to previous generations, with minorities particularly impacted. If not addressed by the mortgage lending industry, government, and civil society, low homeownership will severely diminish the ability of Millennials to achieve long-term financial security.

“At Better, we are committed to expanding access to home finance to all Americans and believe it’s vitally important to understand the challenges facing every homebuyer,” said Vishal Garg, CEO and co-founder, Better Mortgage. “The Urban Institute findings prove our hypothesis that Millennials are not as involved in homeownership and unless we tackle this now they’re at risk of becoming a ‘financially lost generation’.”

To address these issues, Better has also launched its #SpentOnRent campaign, to mobilize a call for change and increase Millennial homeownership. More information can be found at better.com/spentonrent.

In addition to the oft-cited obstacles such as student debt, tightened credit standards, and the increasingly limited availability of affordable housing in desirable cities, the report explains how the unique demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Millennials, as well as this generation’s shifting attitudes towards homeownership itself, have led to an overall low rate of homeownership, when compared to previous generations.

Key findings from the report include:

  • The Millennial homeownership rate is 8% lower than Baby Boomer/Gen X generations, totaling 3.4 million fewer homeowners.
  • High student debt has reduced Millennials’ likelihood of owning. 45.6% of Millennials have borrowed money for education and about 36% of Millennials currently owe student debt, compared to 18.0% for Gen X and 4.1% for Baby Boomers.
  • Millennials are more racially and ethnically diverse than previous generations, and minorities have almost 15% lower homeownership rates than whites.
  • Between 2000 and 2015, black homeownership rate fell by 9.7%, significantly higher than the drop in the homeownership rate of three race/ethnic groups during this period. Only black households did not experience an increase in homeownership during the housing boom.

Millennials currently represent the largest generation in U.S. history, yet demonstrate lower homeownership rates than the previous two generations. Using industry data, the report offers a detailed analysis of the primary factors leading to this disparity, along with recommendations for how these issues can be mitigated in both the public and private sector. These factors include how Millennials often live in high-cost cities where the housing supply is inelastic. Millennials are also more likely to delay marriage and have children. Notably, race and parental ownership also play significant roles in the likelihood of a Millennial owning a home.

Based on the report’s findings, The Urban Institute has outlined the following policy recommendations to improve Millennial homeownership rates:

  • Enhance financial knowledge and homeowner awareness by providing accessible and engaging online training and well-designed financial education at the high school and college level.
  • Streamline and increase the efficiency of the mortgage process through the use of FinTech.
  • Include rental and utility payment history data, in order to comprehensively evaluate Millennials’ creditworthiness and fully capture income in the underwriting process.
  • Change land use and zoning regulations to allow for more construction, particularly in areas with a restricted supply of housing.

Better Mortgage plans to use the findings contained within this report to advocate for more extensive changes within the private and public sector, offering a call to action to its fellow lenders, elected officials, and policymakers.

“The private sector needs to play a more active role in advocating for change, rather than waiting for inventory to free up or the rate environment to shift,” added Garg. “We will continue to work with public officials and institutions to discuss policy recommendations, and we call on private institutions to join us in educating the public and confronting issues, like financial discrimination, head on.”

Click here to download the full report.

About Better Mortgage

Launched in 2016, Better.com is a full stack mortgage lender digitizing every step of the home financing process to make homeownership more affordable and accessible. Backed by Kleiner Perkins, Goldman Sachs, and Pinebrook, Better is focused on customer advocacy, putting consumers back in control of the most important financial decision of their lives. Recently named Best Mortgage Lender for Customer Service by Nerdwallet, Better has an intuitive online platform, complemented by non-commissioned staff that guide customers through the process, starting with how much house they can afford or how much they can save through to close, completely jargon-free with airtight certainty and the best rate possible. For more information, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Contacts

Media:
Erica Dumas
press@better.com

or

Perry Goldman
pgoldman@montiethco.com

Millennial Credit Scores Are “All Over the Map,” May Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker™ Finds

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Pleasanton, CA – July 11, 2018 (BUSINESS WIRE) The average Millennial borrower credit score on closed loans varied greatly from city-to-city in May, according to the latest Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker™. Average credit scores for borrowers in the top housing markets for this generation (based on percentage of Millennial loans closed) significantly differed across the country, with averages ranging from 662 in Madisonville, Ky. to 757 in San Francisco, Ca. The Millennial city-specific FICOs are not representative of a state’s entire population.

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“You would expect to see higher average FICO scores in the largest coastal metropolitan cities where loan amounts are higher, which we do see in areas such as San Francisco (757), Los Angeles (745), Boston (701) and Miami (722); however, there are some surprisingly high numbers in more rural areas, such as Mitchell, S.D. where the average FICO for Millennials was 735 in May, higher than Boston or Miami,” said Joe Tyrrell, executive vice president of corporate strategy for Ellie Mae. “Our Borrower Insights Survey recently found that many Millennials have a strong misperception about needing a perfect credit score to qualify for a home loan,” added Tyrrell.

Overall, the average FICO score for all closed loans to Millennials in May held steady for the third month in a row at 721, the lowest average for Millennial borrowers since April 2017. Comparatively, Ellie Mae’s latest Origination Insight Report showed that the average FICO score for borrowers of all ages who closed loans in May was 724, one point up from 723 in April.

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Additional key findings from the May 2018 Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker include:

  • Purchases made up 90 percent of all closed loans to Millennials, up from 89 percent in April; refinances represented nine percent, down from 10 percent the month prior, with one percent remaining unspecified month-over-month.
  • Conventional loans remained the most popular loan product for Millennial borrowers at 68 percent of total closed loans in May. FHA loans accounted for 28 percent of closed loans. During this period, VA loans represented just two percent of all closed loans. The remaining three percent were undisclosed.
  • Millennial males were listed as the primary borrower on 62 percent of closed loans, while females were listed on 32 percent and seven percent were unspecified. For comparison, in May 2017, males were listed as the primary borrower on 65 percent of loans, females at 32 percent and three percent were unspecified.
  • The average age of Millennial borrowers held steady from the month prior at 29.9.

Ellie Mae® (NYSE: ELLI) is the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry.

The Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker is an interactive online tool that provides access to up-to-date demographic data about this new generation of homebuyers. It mines data from a robust sampling of approximately 80 percent of all closed mortgages dating back to 2014 that were initiated on Ellie Mae’s Encompass® all-in-one mortgage management solution. Given the size of this sample and Ellie Mae’s market share, it is a strong proxy of Millennial mortgage indicators across the country. Searches can be tailored by borrower geography, age, gender, marital status, FICO score and amortization type.

For more information, visit http://elliemae.com/millennial-tracker.

ABOUT THE ELLIE MAE MILLENNIAL TRACKER

The Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker focuses on Millennial mortgage applications during specific time periods. Ellie Mae defines Millennials as applicants born between the years 1980 and 1999. New data is updated on the first Monday of every month for two months prior.

The Millennial Tracker is a subset of our Origination Insight Report, which details aggregated, anonymized data pulled from Ellie Mae’s Encompass origination platform. Additional information regarding the Origination Insight Report can be found at http://elliemae.com/resources/origination-insight-reports. News organizations have the right to reuse this data, provided that Ellie Mae, Inc. is credited as the source.

ABOUT ELLIE MAE

Ellie Mae (NYSE:ELLI) is the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry. Ellie Mae’s technology solutions enable lenders to originate more loans, reduce origination costs, and reduce the time to close, all while ensuring the highest levels of compliance, quality and efficiency. Visit EllieMae.com or call (877) 355-4362 to learn more.

© 2018 Ellie Mae, Inc. Ellie Mae®, Encompass®, AllRegs®, Mavent®, Velocify®, the Ellie Mae logo and other trademarks or service marks of Ellie Mae, Inc. appearing herein are the property of Ellie Mae, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Other company and product names may be trademarks or copyrights of their respective owners.

Contacts

Ellie Mae, Inc.
Erica Harvill, 925-227-5913
Erica.harvill@elliemae.com

or

Allison+Partners
Alexandra Gardell Kreuter, 646-428-0618
EllieMae@allisonpr.com