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Salt Lake City-based blogger and designer Sarah Gibson’s dreamy backyard. photography by Sarah Gibson of Room For Tuesday

It’s no secret that millennials love Trader Joe’s, ugly Christmas sweater parties, and organic quinoa. But did you know that buying homes was also on their favorite-things-to-do list? Accounting for approximately ⅓ of home buyers, adults between the age of 22 and 37 are apparently just as interested in settling down as they are their freshly brewed chai latte.

LendingTree, an online loan shopping marketplace, recently released a new report on the hottest markets amongst young home buyers. To our surprise, hipster-approved hubs like Austin, TX, Seattle, WA, and Denver, CO were nowhere to be found. Instead, millennials are starting their search for the perfect starter home in Utah.

“Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh are the metros where millennials are making up the largest percentage of purchase requests,” writes LendingTree chief economist, Tendayi Kapfidze. To determine where millennials are settling down, LendingTree analysts looked at new purchase mortgage requests made on their site between January 1, 2018, and November 25, 2018. In Salt Lake City, 51-percent of total purchase requests in the area came from buyers under the age of 35. Minneapolis and Pittsburgh ranked close behind at 48-percent.

“Although the average down payment amount in Salt Lake City is slightly higher than the national figure, the average age of the total population in the area is among the lowest in the country,” adds Kapfidze.

While wannabee Austinites and longtime San Franciscans might feel disappointed by the news, this is one move we should have seen coming all along. It was this exact time last year that Utah’s capital was named by Trulia as the healthiest city in America. With an already bustling restaurant scene (sushi lovers, eat your heart out) and snow-capped peaks, foodies and ski bunnies alike who are looking to take advantage of the outdoors, but don’t want to spend a fortune on housing.

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