According to real estate economists, many baby boomers buy their homes entirely with cash.
The baby boomer generation (ages 60-78) has returned as the largest generation group of American home buyers and replaced the millennials (ages 26-44).
Generation X buyers (ages 45-59) account for almost 25% of home sales.
“What’s impressive is that half of the older boomers and two of the five younger boomers have bought their homes entirely with cash and are completely bypassing fundraising,” Jessica Rautz, Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President of Research, said in a statement sent to the Epoch Times.
The statistics originated from a survey of NAR in July 2024 and were sent to almost 168,000 recent home buyers. It also found that over 90% of buyers under the age of 44 funded home purchases, while 27% of young millennials (ages 26-34) reported using gifts from family and friends to support down payments. Approximately 25% of that group moved directly from their family homes at the time of purchase.
The number of first-time home buyers this year fell by nearly 10%, with the 71 first timers consisting of younger millennials, while older millennials tended to be repeat buyers. “Aged millennials are buying bigger new homes with bigger drops than their younger counterparts,” Rautz said.
Related Stories
Bianca D’Alessio, an associate broker at Nest Seekers International in Manhattan, told the Epoch Times that baby boomers also dominate the Greater New York Metro area market.
“This goes beyond the trend of the empty Nester. We see many multi-generational purchases, with grandparents and parents taking part, now including young children who share the same household,” she said.
“There’s a risk of affordability for the younger generation, so Boomers sell big houses with adult children to buy real estate.”
Many baby boomers are shrinking and swimming with their children to buy a detached house, townhome, or three-bedroom condominium.
“There’s definitely a change in the buyer mentality as the younger generation realizes they don’t need to have that picture-perfect instant gratification in their first home,” D’Alessio said.
Her recent clients include grandparents who are buying an apartment with adult children and grandchildren in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
“This means they can help raise their children.
“And also, so many buildings have great amenities like playrooms for kids, community rooms and fitness centres, providing more space for people.”
She said she recently moved from Connecticut and sold another Brooklyn property to baby boomers to buy property with her adult daughter.
Sometimes families choose multi-generation single-family homes in New York City or the outskirts of Long Island. “There’s actually something very sweet about this as the family unit comes back together again,” D’Alessio said.
Courtesy of the National Association of Realtors
Meanwhile, Generation X home buyers financially outperformed all generations with a median household income of $130,000, followed by older millennials at $127,500. General X also led the way in multi-generational home buying, with 21% of this group choosing two-family homes that can be shared with children and parents.
ZZ Gen, the youngest group (ages 18-26), made up only 3% of buyers and 2% of sellers.
However, within that group, single female home buyers represented the largest segment at 30%, and were more likely to buy older homes.
For all generations, sellers remained at home for a median of ten years. However, younger millennials were usually sold just five years later, while older baby boomers stayed at home for 16 years.
Younger baby boomers were more likely to buy in small towns, while older baby boomers tended to buy in suburbs and subdivisions.
Approximately 90% of all sellers worked with real estate agents, and these homes were usually sold at 100% of the final price.
Buyers representing Silent Generation (ages 79-99) had one of the lowest shares of buyers at just 4%, but the highest proportion of military veterans at 35%. They also reported the lowest median household income and purchased a small home close to family and friends. Senior housing accounted for 27% of purchases.
Over 74% of all home buyers fund their home purchases, older buyers use revenue from previous home sales to down payments, and younger buyers use it in response to savings or financial support from family and friends for the down payment.
The biggest reason I wanted to own a home across generations was getting closer to my family and friends. Other main reasons include changes in family circumstances (marriage, divorce, children), desire for a small home, retirement, job-related locations, and financial security.
Single independent homes are most commonly purchased in all generations, with older baby boomers leaning towards condominiums, which leads to less maintenance. Young baby boomers were more likely to buy a new home.
Regarding home size, the survey found that 1,900 square feet is a typical amount of space required, and includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Overall, buyers were expecting to live in their home for the median 15 years.
