Buying a family-sized home with three or more bedrooms used to be manageable for young people with children. But with home prices climbing faster than wages, mortgage rates still close to 23-year highs and a shortage of homes nationwide, many Millennials with kids can’t afford it. And Gen Z adults with kids? Even harder.
Meanwhile, Baby Boomers are staying in their larger homes for longer, preferring to age in place and stay active in a neighborhood that’s familiar to them. And even if they sold, where would they go? There is a shortage of smaller homes in those neighborhoods.
As a result, empty-nest Baby Boomers own 28% of large homes — and Milliennials with kids own just 14%, according to a Redfin analysis released Tuesday. Gen Z families own just 0.3% of homes with three bedrooms or more.
Why should they have to move? What is this unwritten law that says after 30 years you’re required to sell your family home to someone younger? I get that the baby boomer generation has fucked up a lot, but I don’t see why anyone should have to silently pack their belongings and shuffle off to a nursing home just because Junior wants his first big boy house…
I agree, but it sure would be nice if boomers did something good for once.
They will eventually (though only once). It’s one of two certainties in life and the other is taxes.