PHOENIX — The number of millennial homeowning households surpassed those of rental households, according to government data analyzed by the site Rentcafe.com.
The generational shift comes slightly later than previous generations, but the shift is happening quickly.
The analysis shows about 18.2 million millennial households own their home compared to 17.2 million that rent. Rentcafe’s analysis shows a seven million increase in millennial homeownership in the past five years, a growth of 65%.
Millennials, or those born between 1981 and 1996, in Phoenix track along with the national trends.
Homeownership by millennial households grew 66% in the Valley in the last five years with rental households falling by 14%.
Homeownership rates for older "Baby Boomer" and "Gen-X" households also grew but at a much milder rate. Members of the "Gen Z" generation are beginning to leave the nest, with both homeownership and rental rates increasing by triple digits in the past five years.
An analysis of census data for the latest American Community Survey shows millennials were 16% of home-owning households across the Valley, about 185,000 of a total of 1.1 million. The largest share of homeowning households is Baby Boomers at over 400,000.
Homeownership to rental ratios by age group shows most Gen Z Valley residents that have left home are renters, but numbers in the Valley are climbing.
According to the 2021 survey, 42% of households headed by an individual aged 25 to 34 in the Valley are homeowners.
Millennial homeowners, classified as aged 35 to 44 in 2021 when the survey was released, are almost two out of three compared to renters of the same age. Households headed by older generations are at or over three out of four in homeownership rates.
Rentcafe’s data shows there are some metros across the country with much higher millennial homeownership rates.
Midland Texas is reported to have the highest rate of millennial home-owning households at 82%.
That is followed closely by Millennials in Provo, Utah. Of the ten metros with the lowest homeownership rates for millennial households, five are in California.
