Adults ages 60 to 78 appear to be brushing off current housing challenges more easily than other age groups. Find out what baby boomers--and other age groups--are expecting from their agents to help them succeed in today's housing market. Americans between the ages of 60 and 78--the baby boomer generation--are commanding a sizable presence in the housing market lately, regaining their top spot as the largest share of home buyers. They accounted for 42% of buyers and 53% of sellers, the highest of any other age group, according to the National Association of REALTORS®' "2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report." They're being motivated to buy or sell by the desire to move closer to family, friends and relatives, retirement, or wanting to downsize into a smaller home, according to NAR's report. "In a plot twist, baby boomers have overtaken millennials--the largest U.S. population--to become the top generation of home buyers," says Jessica Lautz, NAR's deputy chief economist. "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." Indeed, they're finding they have the equity to do it. Consider, older adults have stayed in their current homes longer than other age groups (a median of 16 years among 70- to 78-year-olds and 13 years among 60- to 69-year-olds), allowing them to ride the wave of growing home appreciation over recent years. NAR data shows that in the last five years alone, home prices nationwide have risen 47%, which has proven a boon to homeowners' net worth. Older adults are the most likely to leverage their equity from a previous home sale for their next home purchase, which could be helping them to better weather current high home prices and bypass elevated mortgage rates that have been blamed for delaying prospective first-time home buyers. Having greater financial resources from the rise in home appreciation may also help explain why older buyers were the least likely age group to say they had to make any sacrifices when they purchased a home. Source: NAR Realtor® News
Homeowners 62 and older saw their housing wealth increase by $600 billion in the second quarter to $14 trillion, according to the latest quarterly release of the NRMLA/Risk Span Reverse Mortgage Market Index. Growth in senior homeowner's wealth was largely attributable to an estimated 3.97 percent (or $624.6 billion) increase in senior home values, which was offset by a 0.89 percent (or $20.9 billion) increase in senior-held mortgage debt. Increasing house prices drove the index's upward trend, mitigated to some extent by a corresponding modest increase in mortgage debt held by seniors. "Senior home equity levels reached $14 trillion for the first time, which is an impressive milestone," said NRMLA President Steve Irwin. "Housing wealth represents a critical, yet underutilized resource, that can provide greater financial security for America's aging population." They can also use the loan proceeds to help family members who might be struggling to afford homeownership as 25% of first-time homebuyers get down payment assistance. Sources: NRMLA and Housing Wire
