Baby Boomers overtaking Millennials the market
Per the National Association of Realtors, Adults ages 60 to 78 appear to be brushing off current housing challenges more easily than other age groups.
Find out what baby boomers—and other age groups—are expecting from their agents to help them succeed in today’s housing market:
What a plot twist…
Americans between the ages of 60 and 78—the baby boomer generation—are commanding a sizable presence in the housing market lately, regaining their top spot as the largest share of home buyers. They accounted for 42% of buyers and 53% of sellers, the highest of any other age group, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ newly released “2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report.”
They’re being motivated to buy or sell by the desire to move closer to family, friends and relatives, retirement, or wanting to downsize into a smaller home, according to NAR’s report.
“In a plot twist, baby boomers have overtaken millennials—the largest U.S. population—to become the top generation of home buyers,” says Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist. “What’s striking is that half of older boomers and two out of five younger boomers are purchasing homes entirely with cash, bypassing financing altogether.”
Indeed, they’re finding they have the equity to do it. Consider, older adults have stayed in their current homes longer than other age groups (a median of 16 years among 70- to 78-year-olds and 13 years among 60- to 69-year-olds), allowing them to ride the wave of growing home appreciation over recent years. NAR data shows that in the last five years alone, home prices nationwide have risen 47%, which has proven a boon to homeowners’ net worth.
They’ve got the equity
Older adults are the most likely to leverage their equity from a previous home sale for their next home purchase, which could be helping them to better weather current high home prices and bypass elevated mortgage rates that have been blamed for delaying prospective first-time home buyers. Sixty-two percent of 70- to 78-year-olds and 53% of 60- to 69-year-olds used the proceeds from the sale of a primary residence for their next home purchase, the most common source of their down payment, according to NAR’s report. Plus, while more than 90% of buyers 44 years and younger financed their home purchase, only 49% of older baby boomers needed a mortgage to purchase their next home. Recent NAR data has shown that all-cash home sales remain at historical highs, comprising 32% of transactions in February.
Having greater financial resources from the rise in home appreciation may also help explain why older buyers were the least likely age group to say they had to make any sacrifices when they purchased a home. Younger generations, on the other hand, described cutting their spending, delaying vacation plans and even getting a side hustle to afford today’s record-high home prices.
Yet, while baby boomers tended to be the most confident group of home buyers, they did share some common sentiments about the housing market with other age groups: Finding the right property is a challenging step, and they need the help of a real estate agent.
They need guidance on how to invest their Equity
Regardless of age, real estate agents and brokers remain the top home buying and selling resource for home buyers, NAR’s report shows. “While the internet is being utilized throughout the home search, buyers continue to need the help of a real estate professional to help them find the right home, negotiate terms of sale and help with price negotiations,” the report states. “Agents remain the most used information source in the home search, followed by mobile or tablet search devices.”
Buyers of all age groups said their top reasons for working with a real estate agent were to get help finding the right home to purchase, negotiating the terms of the sale and the price, and completing paperwork, NAR’s survey shows.
See the link below for the source and complete article, including graphics on why this is true and where the other generations stand.
https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/flexing-their-equity-baby-boomers-are-driving-the-housing-market?grp=residential&narmail=EdgeUp-DataFeedTemplate&date=04-03-2025&user=3848879&itid=13076893