Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Real estate data shows Boomers in the market scooping up homes with ADUs.
Urban Living
Posted By Babs De Lay on July 2, 2025, 4:00 AM
Boomers are back on top! Despite knee and hip replacements, Baby Boomers now account for 42% of all home buyers in the U.S., taking over the no. 1 spot from Millennials, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The recent data also shows that roughly half of older Boomers and 40% of younger Boomers are purchasing homes with all cash instead of getting a mortgage.
Seventeen percent of all homebuyers purchased a multigenerational home, where there's a mother-in-law apartment, ADU or "casita" on the same parcel for family members or caretakers. It is interesting that Generation X bought the most multigenerational homes, followed by younger Boomers.
"Gen Xers are today's sandwich generation," NAR researcher Jessica Lauts said recently. "They are purchasing multigenerational homes to accommodate aging relatives, children over the age of 18 and even for cost savings."
Gen Z are folks who were born between 1999 and 2011; Millennials from 1980 to 1998; Gen X from 1965 to 1979 and Boomers from 1946 to 1964. Other data showed that roughly nine out of 10 buyers used a real estate agent to purchase a home and, across all generations, sellers tended to stay in their homes for a median of 10 years.
But young Millennials tended to move around every five years, and older Boomers sold after 16 years. Yet, older Millennials are reaching middle age and are often repeat buyers, having bought and sold their first home or condo and now moving up in price and size for their next purchase.
Another recent study by Realtor.com found that down payments for homes increased in 2024 to a new record. In the last quarter of 2024, the median down payment on a primary home was $30,250, up from $24,000 in 2021. They also found that the overall housing market in this country is seeing more high-end transactions in the $750,000-plus range. This means higher down payments when it's a higher sales price.
One of the reports suggested that people saved money during the COVID pandemic, which they could then use towards a larger down payment on a new purchase.
The more money you put down on a mortgage at the time of purchase, the less your payment will be. Interest rates in general are still hovering just below 7%, but the market is slower and I'm seeing more buyers able to negotiate with a seller to pay some or all of the upfront costs of a mortgage, which can be 2% to 3%.
Many first-time buyers have saved for a down payment, but don't have any more for lender costs. In a slower market, the advantage is for buyers to get more bells and whistles than a seller's market—not just help with closing costs, but home warranties to cover repairs and replacements for a year or credit towards HOA fees for 6 to 12 months.
About The Author
Babs De Lay
A full-time broker/owner of Urban Utah Homes and Estates, Babs De Lay serves on the Salt Lake City Historic Landmark Commission. A writer and golfer, you'll find them working as a staff guardian at the Temple at Burning Man each year.
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