Whether you are contemplating buying or selling a house these days, it is likely that you are a baby boomer – or financially supported by one.  Some are looking to downsize or just change to another home and it is this group that has allowed the housing market to remain buoyant.  The National Association of Realtors has stated that baby boomers now make up 39% of home buyers, the most of any generation. 

Baby boomers have the upper hand in the home-buying market.  The majority of them are repeat buyers who have equity to propel them into their dream home, be it a place to enjoy retirement or a home near friends and family.  They are living healthier and longer and making housing trades later in life. 

Some of the baby boomers have benefited from the skyrocketing values of their homes, which has led to historically high levels of housing wealth.   They are not using cash from savings or retirement accounts, but instead rolling over their home equity. 

Of course, there are still plenty of cash buyers who are able to sidestep mortgage rates entirely and the new “normal” of rates will now hover around 6.5% or higher.  Buyers need to understand that there will be no return to the 3% rates that were available during the pandemic. And because home prices have also escalated, affordability for many is at near-record lows and inventory is still very limited. 

No one knows what the future market will bring, but for now it seems the baby boomers will continue to fuel the housing industry.