Kevin Sears President | Official website
In recent findings by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), baby boomers have reclaimed the position as the most prominent group among home buyers. The NAR's 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report highlights the trends in home buying and ownership across different generations.
The report shows that younger and older baby boomers now account for 42% of home buyers, surpassing millennials, who have fallen to 29% from 38% the previous year. Jessica Lautz, NAR's deputy chief economist, remarked, "In a plot twist, baby boomers have overtaken millennials – the largest U.S. population – to become the top generation of home buyers." Lautz also noted, "What's striking is that half of older boomers and two out of five younger boomers are purchasing homes entirely with cash, bypassing financing altogether."
In contrast, many younger buyers depend on financing and familial gifts to fund their down payments. For example, 27% of younger millennials and 13% of older millennials reported receiving monetary contributions from friends or relatives.
Additionally, only 24% of the recent buyers were first-time homeowners, a decrease from 32% last year. Lautz observed, "Older millennials are buying bigger and newer homes with larger down payments than their younger counterparts." Meanwhile, Generation X members have maintained their buyer percentage at 24% with a median household income of $130,000, the highest among generations.
Multigenerational living is becoming increasingly popular. Lautz described Generation Xers as "today’s sandwich generation," who are purchasing multigenerational homes to support both aging parents and grown children. The report says 17% of all buyers chose multigenerational homes, with Generation X leading at 21%.
Although Generation Z only represents a 3% share of the market, it showed a remarkable 30% of single-female purchasers, aligning with older home buying trends. Lautz commented, "Gen Z is slowly entering the housing market with the lowest household income and they’re more likely to be single than other buyers."
Overall, 88% of buyers used a real estate agent, and referrals remain a popular way to connect clients with agents. Satisfaction with agents was high, with 88% of buyers indicating they would use their agent again. Sellers' involvement of an agent was equally significant, resulting in homes selling for about 100% of the final list price.
Baby boomers led the seller demographics, constituting 53% of all sellers. Sellers, overall, remained in their homes for about ten years before selling.
The NAR survey was conducted with responses from primary residence buyers who made purchases between July 2023 and June 2024. The results provide insight into current home buying and selling dynamics and reflect the economic adjustments of various age groups in the market.
