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TH E M R EP O RT | 47 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 Millennials Head (Mid) West Mount Vernon, Illinois, came in as the most popular metro area for millennials. A ccording to Ellie Mae's most recent Millennial Tracker for March, millennial homebuy - ers are moving to the Midwest. Homes in Midwestern states have proven to be more affordable, and Mount Vernon, Illinois, was the most popular metropolitan area for homes purchased by millen - nial buyers for the month. Millennials are also mov- ing to other Midwestern cities, including Hutchinson, Kansas; New Philadelphia-Dover, Ohio; Defiance, Ohio; Dickinson, North Dakota; Owosso, Michigan; and Ashland, Ohio. Other popular cities for millennials included Midland, Texas, and Odessa, Texas. "What this data shows is where there is an inventory of affordable homes, the millennial buyers are ready to enter the market," said Joe Tyrrell, EVP of Corporate Strategy for Ellie Mae. "We expect to see this trend continue as average FICO scores decline and affordable loan op - tions become more available to millennial homebuyers." The Millennial Tracker also found that a little over half of mil - lennial borrowers were married, at 51 percent. The average age of these millennial buyers was 29.5 years old, and Ellie Mae found that mostly men were listed as the primary borrower, at 65 percent, compared to 32 percent of women. Millennials continue to close on loans quicker, with the time-to- close dropping from 44 days in February to 43 days in March, and the average time-to-close on a purchase fell from 42 to 41 days. The Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker is a monthly measure of millennial mortgage applications, and Ellie Mae defines millennials as applicants born between 1980 and 1999. St. Louis, Milwaukee Top Millennial Housing Lists The 63144 zip code in St. Louis offers the best access to schools, jobs, and affordable housing for millennial homebuyers. T he absolute best place for millennial homebuy- ers? That'd be 63144— located in St. Louis, Missouri, according to new data from HomeUnion. For millenni - als renters, the best market is a little further north, in Milwaukee's 53122 zip code. Together, these regions offer the best access to good schools and jobs without long commutes or overly expensive housing. Other zip codes to make the list of top spots for millennial homebuyers were 33434 (West Palm Beach, Florida); 15243 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania); 44026 (Cleveland, Ohio); and 73003 (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma). Altogether, the list includes 17 cit - ies—all of which boast an average monthly mortgage that does not exceed 28 percent of the median household income for the area. According to Steve Hovland, Director of Research at HomeUnion, millennials face a pre - dicament in today's housing market. "We know that millennials would like to own a home, but we also know that they struggle to find suitable for-sale options near major employment centers due to high home prices and low inventory," Hovland said. "Homes in metro ar - eas like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City, where many millennials prefer to live, are out of reach for the most of the millennial generation because of the disparity between prices and incomes. They are also burdened with high levels of student loan debt, which makes homeownership an additional chal - lenge." Aside from Milwaukee, other zip codes ideal for millen- nial renters are 40243 (Louisville, Kentucky); 78705 (Austin, Texas); 73165 (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma); and 63126 (St. Louis). The full list included 24 zip codes where rent did not exceed 2.5 times gross income for the region. To determine the best zip codes on both lists, HomeUnion looked at factors like school ratings, com - mute time, median income, and more. Only zip codes with cities in at least the 80th percentile were included. "To help millennials with their housing predicament," Hovland said, "we created a comprehensive list of zip codes that are the most affordable with excellent public schools and also have the shortest commute times to job centers." CONNECTED WITH YOUR MI NEEDS Genworth Mortgage Insurance Corporation ©2017 Genworth Financial, Inc. All rights reserved. WITH GENWORTH MI YOU CAN Quick. Easy. Connected. To learn more about our technology connections, contact your Genworth MI Sales Rep today, visit our website at mi.genworth.com/techconnections or call the ActionCenter® at 800 444.5664. • Get A Rate Quote • Order MI • Submit Documents It's National Homeownership Month. Let's work together to help someone buy a house today. We partner with vendors across the industry to provide faster access to Genworth Mortgage Insurance.