Baby boomers edged out millennial home buyers, according to a new report, thanks to high mortgage rates and home prices. According to an annual report by the National Association of Realtors, baby boomers make up 39% of home buyers, up from 29% last year. At the other end of the spectrum, Generation Z only makes up 4% of buyers.
Millennials, aged 24 to 42 had been the biggest group of buyers since 2014 nationally, the NAR said, but their share has fallen to 28% last year from 43% in 2021.
“‘The majority of them are repeat buyers who have housing equity to propel them into their dream home.’”
— Jessica Lautz, vice president of research at NAR, on baby boomers
“Baby boomers have the upper hand in the homebuying market,” Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the NAR, said in a statement. “The majority of them are repeat buyers who have housing equity to propel them into their dream home — be it a place to enjoy retirement or a home near friends and family,” she added. “They are living healthier and longer and making housing trades later in life.” Childcare expenses was the biggest factor holding back buyers. Some 36% of all buyers said that this was the biggest obstacle. That was followed by healthcare costs and credit-card debt. Paying off debt and having to save more for a down payment are two other major factors hurting potential buyers, experts say. The median amount buyers put down for a house was 14%, according to the NAR. The NAR surveyed over 4,800 recent home buyers. First-time buyers face challenges The rise in mortgage rates and high home-price increases in the second half of 2022 have made home buying tough for many first-timers. First-time buyers comprised 26% of all purchases, which is the lowest since the NAR began tracking the data. Last year, 34% of home buyers were first-timers. Most first-time buyers were millennials: 70% of younger millennials aged 24 to 32 and 46% of older millennials aged 33 to 42 were first-time buyers. Only 9 …