Not surprisingly, several of the nation’s hottest and trendiest housing markets ended up on a list of cities with the most mortgages.
A LawnStarter analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data found that more than 70 percent of owner-occupied homes in Denver, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle had a mortgage in 2015.
Washington D.C. was atop the list, as 79 percent of homes (1,069,934 total) had a mortgage. The region’s transient population, particularly among Millennials, was cited as the main reason.
“DC is not a large market for retirees or downsizers who may be more likely to own their homes outright,” Redfin real estate agent Steven Centrella says. “And while there are lifetime Washingtonians, of course, a large percentage of the home-buying population has moved here from somewhere else for job and educational opportunities. Many of these residents will not live in DC forever and will purchase a home without the intention of owning it for 30 or more years.”
