Lexington ranked third worst city in U.S. for Gen Z homebuyers

A new ranking from Point 2 says Lexington is the third most difficult city in the U.S. for members of Gen Z to become homeowners.

It’s based on a number of factors, including Gen Z home-ownership rates.

“People are moving here from all over the country so it’s not surprising,” said Christina Dudek, a realtor with Coldwell Banker Mcmahan.

Her own Gen Z daughter, 24-year-old Savannah Dudek, experienced firsthand how tough it is to find housing. It took her 6 months. There were very few homes available and the ones that were, were often outside of her price range.

“I was looking for a single family home and ended up buying a townhouse, and the townhouse i bought needed some work, it was an 80’s time capsule.” Dudek said.

The report found Lexington has a “cocktail of scarce inventory, a high unemployment rate among under 25-year-olds and median household income not even hitting $25,150, make homeownership difficult to attain for Gen Z.”

Christina noted that many members of Gen Z in Lexington may still be in college.

She explained the difficulty finding a home to buy impacts all age groups.

“Everyone, no matter your price range, is having issues finding homes, whether you’re paying for a million dollar home or a 100,000 dollar home, Dudek said. “There’s a lot of competition – there’s a lot of challenges that make it tough right now.”

Even so, she says it is not impossible, especially if you use a realtor. That could include Savannah, who is also now a realtor.

She said the townhome she bought was worth it, it’s something she tries to convey to my friends who may otherwise feel discouraged.

The ranking was based on the 100 largest U.S. cities. For more on the data, click here.