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52 | M R EP O RT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST DATA Where the Younger Homebuyers Are Millennials are beginning to take over the housing market, but which areas are drawing the most attention? R ealtor.com found that Provo, Utah, is the youngest city in America with an average age of 24.7-years-old, despite hav- ing the highest average-home price—$305,000—of any market on the list. Despite the cost of housing, a 2017 report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development said that Provo has added 13,000 residents annually since 2010. Aside from Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University, the report states that the construction of many schools are underway to keep up with the growing number of children in the metro, Realtor.com states there are approximately 170,000 households in the metro, but one-fifth of the area's population is comprised of BYU and UVU students. "The market is tough to find houses that are close to university that are for sale," Provo real estate agent William Stelzer said. "The competition is gigantic." Stillwater, Oklahoma, came in at No. 2 with an average age of 26.6 and a median-home price of $195,000. Another college town, Stillwater is the home of Oklahoma State University and its 25,000 students. "A lot of people stay here, get jobs here, get married, and buy houses. If they can make it work, they will," Stillwater agent Cheryl Carpenter Martin said. Other markets on the list include: Jacksonville, North Carolina; Manhattan, Kansas; Ames, Iowa; College Station, Texas; Mount Pleasant, Michigan; Athens, Ohio; Statesboro, Georgia; and Lafayette, Indiana. Mount Pleasant had the lowest- average home price at $161,500 and had an average age of 28.1-years- old. Like many markets on the list, Mount Pleasant is home to Central Michigan University and its 20,000 students. "It's a small town with some big-town amenities," local agent Tricia Boerma said. "It's not unusual for CMU graduates to fall in love with the place and stay, she says. It happened to her…I just like the town, the location, the vi- cinity in Michigan," she says. "You can get anywhere (in the state), and it's just a nice place." Lansing is about an hour away. How Does Immigration Impact Home Prices? Although the immigation population in American has fallen, communities with more immigrants witness higher home prices. A nalysis by Clever found that home values increased $0.14 for each authorized or unau- thorized immigrant in a metro between 2007 and 2016. The report states that home values increased one dollar for each additional seven unauthorized immigrants (per 100,000 residents). Clever states that if a metro has a median-home price of $150,000, an additional 100,000 immigrants could increase home values 9% to $164,000. "The relationship between the immigrant population and home values is a complicated one and a reason for the relationship is difficult to pin down. Additional immigrants may simply increase the demand for housing, which in turn increases prices," the report states. "Foreign-born citizens are just as likely to own a home as native citizens, and many (35%) non-citizen immigrant residents own homes in the U.S. Therefore, it's certainly reasonable to assume that as more immigrants enter an area, the prices increase as a result of demand." There are three categories of immigrants: Those who were born in another country (foreign born) but have since become U.S. citizens, authorized residents, and unauthorized residents. Authorized residents are foreign-born but are in the U.S. legally as permanent residents, asylum seekers, or temporary visa holder. Unauthorized residents are those who do not have appropri- ate documentation. The U.S. Census Bureau report- ed that immigrants made up 12.5% of the U.S. population in 2007, but rose to 15% of the population in 2016. Although the immigrant population has increased, the un- authorized population has fallen from 4% in 2007 to 3% in 2016, and the U.S. has seen drops in crime rates, lower unemployment rates, and GDP growth. A report by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Association of Home Builders from September found that minority homeownership fell to 46.9% in Q2 2019. The Hispanic homeowner- ship rate was flat 46.6%. The homeownership rate for African- American-non-hispanics fell to 42.6% in Q2 2019 from 41.3% during the same period last year. The homeownership rate among white, non-Hispanics, in- creased slightly to 73.1% in Q2 2019 from 72.9% last year. "Foreign-born citizens are just as likely to own a home as native citizens, and many (35%) non- citizen immigrant residents own homes in the U.S. Therefore, it's certainly reasonable to assume that as more immigrants enter an area, the prices increase as a result of demand."