Zoomers, Millennials Prefer Suburbs To Urban Living

Urban living is taking a back seat to spacious suburbs for both parent-aged Millennials and affordability-minded Zoomers.

A recent report from StorageCafe found that housing markets in exurbs and suburbs grew faster than in principal cities over the last decade, so fast that typical life changes in the largest homebuying cohort, Millennials, can’t account for it altogether.

For Millennials, city living no longer makes sense. Many are in their homebuying and parenting years, making spacious suburban houses with plentiful outdoor areas important. The rise of remote work means many don’t have to sacrifice the perks of raising a family outside the city in order to be close to work, making these areas more appealing.

For Gen Z, however, the reason appears to be housing affordability. This group is “generally well-versed in assessing housing woes based on their predecessors’ experiences,” the analysis notes.

Suburbs in states with rural charm and lower densities – plus a lower cost of living and cheaper housing – are attracting these younger buyers. Zoomers who rent still live in cities, leading to many urban areas becoming “youthified,” but they say that suburbs are their preference when it comes to a long-term home.

Suburb growth is concentrated in the South, with StorageCafe’s list of the top 20 fastest-growing housing markets featuring seven Texas suburbs and five in Florida.

But Vineyard, Utah, claimed the top spot, proving that the trend extends beyond large Southern metros. This is largely due to its huge housing inventory – the suburb has increased its total stock by over 70 times in the past decade.

A desire for natural beauty and affordability may help explain why exurbs, areas with fewer than 250 residents per square mile, have seen an explosion in growth, with many of them gaining suburb status based on population density.

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