Owning a house with three or more bedrooms is quite a bit harder for young families today than it was once.
Baby boomers with no kids at home now own twice the share of huge homes than millennials with children, which is a big shift from just 10 years prior, in accordance with data released by Redfin this week.
Analyzing the most recent census data from 2022, the real estate brokerage found baby boomer empty nesters owned 28.2% of huge U.S. homes, while millennials with kids owned 14%. Within the previous census a decade ago, young families were just as more likely to own large homes as empty nesters.
Redfin noted that millennials (ages 26-41 in 2022) also make up the biggest share of America’s adult population, at 28%, with boomers (ages 58-76 two years ago) close behind at 27%. Gen Xers (42-57) make up 25% of the population and Gen Zers (19-25) make up 12%.
The information also shows older Americans now own a greater share of larger homes than they did when the last census was conducted, and younger families own a smaller share.
Throughout the 2012 count, empty nesters of the “silent generation” (ages 67-84 on the time) owned 16% of the homes with three-plus bedrooms, while Gen Xers (who were 32-47 back then) with children owned a greater share, at 19%.
Redfin’s analysts determined there are each current and historic reasons for baby boomers owning an “outsized” share of huge homes.
Baby boomers with no kids at home now own twice the share of huge homes than millennials with children Getty Images/iStockphoto
The primary is that boomers have little financial incentive to sell homes immediately. A majority of them (54%) own their homes outright, so taking up a mortgage at today’s high home prices and rates of interest can be a costly move.
At the identical time, nearly all of the boomers who do have a house payment are paying significantly lower mortgage rates than today’s — that are around 6.66%, in accordance with Freddie Mac — so downsizing would likely mean paying the identical amount every month for a smaller home with little to no equity.
Though millennials make up the biggest share of the American adult population, many don’t own large homes. Getty Images
Boomers have little financial incentive to sell homes immediately. Getty Images/iStockphoto
“There’s unlikely to be a flood of huge homes hitting the market anytime soon,” said Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “Logically, empty nesters are the almost certainly group to sell big homes and downsize: They not have children living at home and don’t need as much space. The issue for younger families who wish their parents’ generation would list their big homes: Boomers don’t have much motivation to sell, financially or otherwise.”
“They typically have low housing costs, and the majority of boomers are only of their 60s, still young enough that they will handle themselves and their home without help,” Bokhari explained. “Still, some boomers are able to downsize right into a condo or move somewhere latest for retirement, and the mortgage-rate lock-in effect is beginning to ease — so regardless that there won’t be a flood of inventory, there will likely be a trickle.”
