Home Buying and Selling Trends by Generation

A quick online search and you can find all different kinds of trends in home buying and selling based on a seemingly endless variety of criteria. Some of the most interesting trends revolve around different generations. Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials, and The Silent Generation all have unique characteristics when it comes to buying and selling real estate.

Millennials
Millennials are people born between the early 1980s and early 2000s. This generation has the highest percentage of first-time home buyers at 68%. They are also tops among all homebuyers overall (whether first-time or fifth-time), making up 32% of all home buyers. The primary motivation for Millennials to purchase a home is simply the desire to own a home of their own, while others seek to control costs in an age of high student loan debt, swiftly increasing rent rates, and growing cost of living. Millennials are also the most likely to use technology and the internet to search for homes of interest to discuss with their realtor.

Gen Xers
Gen Xers are people born between 1965 and the early 1980s. Gen X homebuyers make up 27% of recent home purchases. Gen Xers value stability and often expect to live in a home for a decade or more before moving. When they do decide to move on to another home, they are the most likely of all generations to choose a new home fairly close to their previous home. Similar to Millennials, Gen Xers commonly use the internet and technology to conduct at least a portion of the search for their new home, in conjunction with their real estate agent.

Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964. Once known as the largest generation, Baby Boomers accounted for 31% of recent home purchases, just behind Millennials. Baby Boomers are the generation most likely to move the longest distance from their previous home. Many of those relocations are in anticipation of retirement.

The Silent Generation
The Silent Generation are people born between 1925 and 1945. The Silent Generation comprised the smallest share of recent homebuyers at only 10%. When Silent Generation members do move, they tend to place a higher priority on proximity to family and friends and also health facilities than other generations. Silent Generation buyers generally have two major motivators, they purchase to relocate to more senior-oriented communities or to avoid costly repairs and renovations to their existing home. They are also the generation least likely to compromise on what they want in a new home.

Each generation presents unique characteristics and trends when it comes to buying and selling homes. Do you fit the trends of your generation? One thing is the same across all generations - the need for a terrific realtor. Working with the right real estate agent who understands their needs for their new home is valued by every generation.