Boomers Benefit Most From Pandemic Housing Market

Sellers are making a median $66,000 on the sale of their homes right now, and most of them are Boomers, says Realtor.com. Compared to 2020, sellers are making $6,000 more today off their home sale. Realtor.com’s chief economist says older homeowners and Boomers are better equipped to handle market conditions and the sale of their homes can easily support their search for their next home. About 99% of sellers have received what they asked for in the pandemic housing market. Boomers made up 43% of all sellers in Realtor.com’s survey while Millennials made up the largest share of buyers at 37%.

High prices and the lowest recorded number of homes for sale made it even more difficult for younger buyers, particularly first-timers. Millennials made up the largest share of buyers, at 37%, while 31% of all successful buyers were first-time buyers. (About 82% of younger millennials, aged 22 to 30, and 48% of older millennials, aged 31 to 40, were first-time buyers.)

"Millennials have a lot of headwinds entering the real estate market," says Jessica Lautz, NAR’s vice president of demographics and behavioral insights. "There's not enough homes to go around for the buyers who want to be able to purchase."

Nearly 60% of buyers aged 22 to 40 said the biggest obstacle to buying was finding the right home. More than half of all buyers cited the same concern.

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