The United States is facing a significant housing dilemma, and surprisingly, the issue can be traced back to baby boomers. This generation’s steadfast hold on family-sized homes is creating barriers for millennials and Gen Z individuals who are eagerly searching for affordable housing options.
The landscape of the real estate market is increasingly challenging for younger generations, with property prices continuing to climb. This surge can be attributed to baby boomers who are holding onto their spacious homes, thus limiting the availability of desirable properties for younger buyers.
A recent study conducted by the real estate platform Redfin illuminates the situation further. The study reveals that baby boomers, despite having empty nests, control 28 percent of the nation’s largest homes. These homes, with more than three bedrooms, are precisely the type of properties that millennial and Gen Z families are vying for.
Interestingly, the data highlights a stark contrast: millennials with children own just 16 percent of these large homes across the U.S., a statistic that underscores the ongoing mismatch between the availability of space and the demographic that requires it the most.
In fact, Redfin found that empty-nest baby boomers own more large homes than millennials with kids in every major US metro area, underscoring the mismatch between who has space and who needs it.
Millennials with kids only own around 16 percent of large homes with more than three bedrooms in the US.
Gen Z parents, who are just now entering the housing market, own a measly 1 percent of the nation’s large homes.
And for many younger Americans, owning their own home isn’t even on the radar.
Baby Boomers currently own the most large homes with three or more bedrooms
Around 25 percent of millennial and Gen Z renters say they don’t plan to buy a home anytime soon simply because they can’t afford one where they want to live, no matter how many bedrooms they might want or need.
Shai Reshef, president of the University of the People, cited mounting student loans, in addition to other financial burdens, as reasons why millennials hesitate to buy homes.
‘Young adults do not lack ambition,’ Reshef told The Daily Mail. ‘They are navigating a world where student loan payments, inflated housing costs and tighter lending standards make it much harder to save for a down payment or qualify for a mortgage.’
‘That is why many people in these generations believe homeownership has become less a milestone and more a financial hurdle,’ he added.
Baby boomers, now in their sixties and seventies, have good financial reasons to remain in their giant homes.
More than half of property owners have completely paid off their houses – and for some, the added cost of purchasing a condo just isn’t worth it.
‘I hear empty nesters say they want to downsize, but it’s hard to find move-in ready, small, one-story homes or condos in their price range – especially since many of them are living in a fully paid-off home,’ Philadelphia-based agent Brenda Beiser said during an interview with Redfin.
‘So there’s a lack of movement that’s keeping both older and younger buyers where they are, even though the older ones want a smaller home and the younger ones want a bigger home,’ she added.
Join the discussion
Should empty-nest boomers feel obligated to downsize and make way for younger families?
New Jersey is among the most expensive states to live, with the median household income about $104,000
Empty nesters own the biggest share of homes in Memphis, Tennessee – holding 31 percent of all large houses.
Unsurprisingly, millennials with kids have the biggest share of large homes in Austin, coming in at over 19 percent.
Austin had one of the fastest growing cycles in the country during Covid. When tech workers started moving to the city, developers responded with a surge of apartment construction.
‘That surge in new units has temporarily shifted the market in favor of renters and led to more than two years of rent declines,’ real estate developer Uri Man previously told The Daily Mail.
That’s good news for incoming renters who will have a wide array of luxury apartments, but bad news for current homeowners and sellers, as homes in the area now sit on the market losing value.
Now, the Texas boomtown is among four metros that have 50 percent more homes on the market than pre-pandemic norms, Realtor.com reports.
Home price aside, the rising cost of living makes coveted areas less attainable.
In California, the most expensive state to live in, the median household income was just over $100,000, with the average home value reaching $761,839 as of September 2025.
New Jersey has the second-highest cost of living and the second-most-expensive housing. There, the median household income was around $104,000 and the average home price last September was $562,460.
But the cost of living crisis is impacting residents nationwide – a GOBankingRates report found that Americans must earn at least $100,000 per year to live comfortably in 26 of the nation’s 50 biggest cities.
