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The housing world is a bit of a generational war zone, mostly between baby boomers and millennials.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baby boomers make up more than a third of all homeowners, and more than half don\u2019t even have a mortgage, Eric Finnigan, vice president of demographics for John Burns Research and Consulting, previously told<\/a> Fortune<\/em>. So in our current environment, where mortgage rates <\/a>skyrocketed from historic lows throughout the pandemic to a more than two-decade high in October last year, being mortgage-free is like hitting the mother lode. It\u2019s partly why boomers aren\u2019t moving\u2014because why give up no mortgage rate, or a substantially lower one, for one that\u2019s in the 7% range plus a higher monthly payment?\u00a0<\/p>\n On the other hand, some millennials, who haven\u2019t even bought their first home, are looking at a much different housing market than before the start of the pandemic\u2014one where the salary needed to buy a starter home has almost doubled<\/a>, the cost of owning a home is the highest on record<\/a>, and low inventory levels are much more dire.\u00a0<\/p>\n And baby boomers are sitting on particularly large homes that millennials who are starting families need. A Redfin analysis<\/a> from earlier this year found empty-nest boomers own 28% of the country\u2019s largest homes, those with three bedrooms or more, and millennials with kids own only 14%. As mentioned earlier, there\u2019s simply no financial incentive to let go of their homes. But it wasn\u2019t always this way. \u201cThe landscape has transformed over the last decade: 10 years ago, young families were just as likely as empty nesters to own large homes,\u201d the analysis read.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, existing home sales<\/a> fell to their lowest level in almost three decades; nobody was selling their home or buying. And apart from there being no financial incentive to sell, boomers are aging in place because they can. In doing so, they\u2019re remodeling and improving their current homes\u2014not only for safety but to live comfortably and luxuriously, Finnigan previously explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n For some baby boomers, the idea of renovating their family home\u2014albeit likely too big for their empty nesting\u2014is much more appealing than moving. More than half of them have no plans to move, although the majority of them have lived in their current homes for more than a decade, according to a report<\/a> by home improvement company Leaf Home and Morning Consult released in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n And some baby boomers have spent<\/a> tens of thousands of dollars\u2014and in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars\u2014on home renovations to make their homes feel more updated, comfortable, and safe for aging. A Californian couple in their 70s, Brenda Edwards and her husband, spent more than $100,000 on home renovations to accommodate a wheelchair in case they ever need one.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe felt comfortable,\u201d Edwards told the Associated Press<\/em> about why they wanted to stay instead of move. \u201cWe have a pool. We have a spa. We just put a lot of love and effort into this yard. We want to stay.\u201d Plus, \u201cit would be too hard to purchase anything else\u201d since their house was nearly completely paid off, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many baby boomer homeowners are \u201copting to upgrade their current homes for the long haul,\u201d Marine Sargsyan, chief economist at home renovation and design site Houzz, tells Fortune<\/em>, rather than deal with higher mortgage rates. So much so that baby boomers lead renovation activity across all generations, according to their 2024 Houzz & Home Study<\/a> released in March.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a growing trend toward universal design elements in kitchens and bathrooms specifically as homeowners ready their homes to age in place,\u201d Sargsyan says. \u201cChanges include wheelchair-accessible pathways, additional lighting, pull-out cabinets, rounded countertops, non-slip flooring, and grab bars.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Leaf Home also reports seeing an uptick in demand for walk-in showers and tubs as well as stairlifts, making homes more accessible for aging generations. \u201cWe expect to see an increase in boomers\u2019 desire to make improvements for their homes to remain comfortable and safe,\u201d Nina George, chief growth officer at Leaf Home, tells Fortune<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n But some baby boomers are selling and some millennials are buying homes. Millennials surpassed baby boomers as the largest generation of homebuyers, according to<\/a> the National Association of Realtors.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe generational tug-of-war between millennials and baby boomers continued this year, with millennials rebounding to capture the largest share of homebuyers,\u201d NAR\u2019s deputy chief economist and vice president of research, Jessica Lautz, said alongside a recent generational trends report.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to the CFO Daily newsletter to keep up with the trends, issues, and executives shaping corporate finance. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n