Boomers Are Aging in Place and Not Letting Go

Baby Boomers are disrupting the trend set by their parents who sold their homes and moved in with extended family or to assisted living facilities or nursing homes. Wary of nursing homes where at least one-third of U.S. Covid-19 deaths occurred, Boomers instead are staying put, which could prolong the housing inventory shortage.

So where does that leave the next generation in line for homeownership — Generation Xers, born between 1965 and 1980 — in the supply-and-demand equation? According to the NAR 2021 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, about 24 percent of recent buyers have been Gen-Xers, the highest rate among all age groups. But roughly the same percentage of Gen-Xers were sellers, suggesting musical chairs rather than substantial gains in homeownership and real estate wealth.

The Gen-X share of real estate wealth is increasing, but not fast enough. In 2011, they held about 21 percent of real estate wealth, at which time the boomer share peaked at about 49 percent. Since then, the Gen-X share has risen to 31 percent and the boomer share has declined to 44 percent — still a wide gap.

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