In the latest report on homeownership released by RentCafe, the most recent data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) was analyzed, showing a boom of millennial homeownership nationwide.

“After years of facing challenges in a volatile housing market, millennials have finally become a mainstream generation of homeowners, with 52% of them now owning their homes,” cited RentCafe.

The new report

Hoping to offer a clearer vision of the generational trends around the acquisition of real estate for housing, the aforementioned report presents the most recent IPUMS data for the 110 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S.

One of the most outstanding aspects in the analysis lies in the important historical change that has been taking place in the profile of buyers, where a majority of millennials are now homeowners.

The picture in Philly

The City of Brotherly Love is also a part of the change, with 56% of millennials owning their homes in the entire metro area.

In the region, and following the national trend, the majority of people who are part of the generation group in Philadelphia have become homeowners in the last five years, surpassing the trends of Baby Boomers and Generation X in terms of homeownership growth over the same time period.

Here are some of the key findings in Philly:

-  Millennials — Philadelphia has seen a staggering 77.2% increase in millennial home ownership between 2017 and 2022, so much so that 55.8% (or 359,470) of millennials “listen to 2000s hits on their own homes.” Meanwhile, the number of renters in the age group dropped 10.4% in the metro area. Even so, millennials still make up the largest renter population in Philadelphia, with around 284,645 residents.

-  Generation X — This generation has seen a slight 3.1% growth in homeownership since 2017. About 73% of generation x (or 481,332 people in this age group) live in their own homes in Philadelphia. When it comes to renting, gen x has 7.4% more apartment dwellers than five years ago, representing 27.1% of all renters in the age group (or a total of 178,746 gen xers).

-  Baby Boomers — Despite a 7.8% decline over the past five years, baby boomers remain the largest generation of homeowners in Philadelphia (79% of all homeowners in the metro area, or 634,233 people). By contrast, the number of renting baby boomers has grown by 10.6% in the same time period. Currently about 21% of all Baby Boomers in the area live in rentals.

-  Gen Z — The youngest generation has made a big splash in the Philadelphia job market over the last five years. As a result, many became first-time homebuyers during that time period. Homeownership rates among members of gen z have risen 342.5%, while renters have skyrocketed 214.5%. By that measure, 78.6% of gen zers living in Philadelphia are renting, while 21.4% of them enjoy their own home.