The current housing market is tight, with a lack of available properties for purchase as baby boomers hold onto their homes, boxing out hopeful millennial homebuyers.
At least 78% of baby boomers said they have no plans of downsizing and selling their homes as they grow older due to today's elevated mortgage rates. Additionally, 28% of three-bedroom-plus homes in the US are owned by empty-nest baby boomers. This has led to a lack of housing supply in the market, making it harder for millennials to buy affordable homes.
However, there are some real estate marketplaces in the country where most homeowners are likely to sell their homes, per new research from real-estate marketplace Zillow. For the study, the firm identified 10.8 million homeowners who no longer had mortgages but could "comfortably afford" a new home at current rates, labeling them as the households best positions to move and sell their current home.
In addition, Zillow also identified households that were free from "rate lock-in." Across generations, 17% of baby boomers (aged 60 to 78) and 14% of the Silent Generation (aged 79 to 96) had the highest percentage of homeowners "free of rate lock-in."
With that in mind, here are the five cities Zillow said had the most number of homeowners primed to move and list their homes for sale.
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Percentage of homeowners free of rate-lock: 27%
Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free: 341,063
Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free and mortgage-ready: 188,486
Buffalo, New York
(Photo : ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Percentage of homeowners free of rate-lock: 23%
Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free: 160,048
Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free and mortgage-ready: 76,078
Cleveland, Ohio
(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Percentage of homeowners free of rate-lock: 22%
Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free: 241,587
Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free and mortgage-ready: 123,707
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
(Photo: Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Percentage of homeowners free of rate-lock: 21%
Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free: 143,428
Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free and mortgage-ready: 70,763
Detroit, Michigan
(Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Percentage of homeowners free of rate-lock: 20%
Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free: 524,087
Number of homeowners who are mortgage-free and mortgage-ready: 239,813
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