Boomers Never Plan To Sell Their Homes — 5 Ways It Impacts Millennials and Gen Z
Written by
G. Brian Davis
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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A 2025 study by Clever Real Estate found that nearly two-thirds of baby boomers have no intention of ever selling their homes. Even those who sell are largely buying a replacement home, for a net-neutral impact on housing inventory. The NAR reports that boomers make up the largest generation among homebuyers, with 42%. By comparison, millennials make up 29% of homebuyers and Gen Z makes up just 3%.
With those hurdles in front of mind, what do millennials and Gen Z need to know about how boomers are impacting real estate markets?
1. There’s Less Inventory
In October 2018, there were over 1.3 million homes for sale in the U.S., per the Federal Reserve. By early 2022, that number had fallen to 346,513. Redfin reports that 2023 was the nadir, with just 35.1 out of every 1,000 U.S. homes listed for sale. That number has since climbed to 38.7, but the subsequent turnover rate remains below pre-pandemic levels with just 27.7 sales per 1,000 listings: the lowest since the early 1990s, according to the real estate news site. In 2023 it was slightly higher at 28.6.
When sales remain static while inventory slowly creeps upward, the question arises: How desirable are the available houses? If purchasers aren’t biting in a seller’s market, these living spaces could be less desirable, for reasons like requiring expensive upgrades and repairs, undesirable location or susceptibility to increasing climate risks.
2. Short Supply Creates an Affordability Crisis
Less supply means higher prices, as younger homebuyers know all too well. Relatively high mortgage rates only exacerbate the affordability problem.
“Boomers aging in place creates a bottleneck in the housing market,” said Aaron Buchbinder, real estate broker and founder of The Buchbinder Group. “This drives up buyer competition, keeps prices elevated and leaves first-time buyers on the sidelines, with the average age of first-time homeowners continuing to rise.”
3. The Barriers Create an Epidemic of Delayed Homeownership
In 1991, NAR data shows the plurality of first-time buyers ages 28 to 34. As of 2025, their average age is now 40, while their share of the market has dropped ever since 2008, from the historical rate of 40% to its present record low of 21%. That leaves younger generations with less time for their homes to appreciate during their careers, and potentially less home equity by the time they retire.
The Clever survey found that most boomers actually acknowledge that they had a much easier time buying a home in their 20s than today’s young adults. Despite this admission, they also have little sympathy: 65% of boomers said younger generations could own a home if they were more responsible.
4. First-Time Homeowners Are Settling for Less
Ginger Wilcox, president at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, sees more young homebuyers making compromises.
“We’re seeing buyers take on older properties and reimagine them by reconfiguring layouts, adding ADUs and creating flexible spaces that serve multiple purposes,” she said.
In some cases they’re also moving to further or less desirable neighborhoods, just to get a foot in the door of homeownership.
5. Young Homeowners Are Staying Put and Upgrading
For younger generations who have bought a starter home, many opt to expand or modify their existing home rather than trade up to a new one.
“The larger, boomer-owned properties they seek are scarce and expensive,” Buchbinder said. “Many millennial and Gen Z homeowners are reconfiguring with creative home modifications like extending garages into living areas and playrooms, building on to the home or partitioning existing space.”
Younger homebuyers today face an uphill battle compared to previous generations. But with inventory rising and mortgage rates expected to dip over the next year, they may finally catch a break on affordability.
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