CONTINUE READING
Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, have controlled the lion’s share of the real estate market for nearly a quarter of a century. This feat is impressive for a group that isn’t even the largest generation by population.
In 2000, when boomers were between 36 and 54, they owned roughly the same amount of real estate as their parents’ generation did at that time in their lives. Since then, boomers have held on to their real estate wealth as the Silent Generation divested or died.
Close to a third of baby boomers owned their home when they were 25, compared to 27% of Gen Xers and 28% of millennials when they were that age, according to Census Bureau data analyzed by Redfin.
Americans—especially white, wealthy, and educated ones—are living longer. Today, boomers are between the ages of 59 and 77. “Part of why people are staying in their houses longer is because they’re healthy enough to do it,” said Maureen Henry, deputy director of the International Longevity Center-USA at Columbia University.