Where Are Millennials, Baby Boomers, and Gen Xers Buying Homes?

Urban living often conjures up the image of a single young professional making it big in the city. Yet Gen Xers, rather than millennials, are more likely to spend big money to live in places like Los Angeles. Instead, millennials value affordable housing in smaller urban areas. And baby boomers? They just want somewhere warm to retire.

Work-life balance, parenting, retirement—each generation handles these life challenges in a different way than the one before. And that helps explain just where each group is putting down roots.

Millennials are opting out of the bright lights, big city lifestyle for more affordable small cities. Baby boomers facing retirement want walkable communities with urban amenities, not just 55-plus developments. The perpetually forgotten Gen Xers? They're splitting the difference, opting for larger and more expensive markets while they have the cash to do so.

But there's a sea change happening as millennials, the largest U.S. generation ever, truly come into their own. It's already having far-reaching repercussions across U.S. housing markets, according to a new report by the realtor.com® economic team on home buying across generations.

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