2020 NAR Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends

Most of us, especially the younger folks, have hear of Generation X or Gen X, Generation Y also known as Millennials, and Generation Z. In addition, there are 2 other generations, older ones, Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation. While some of us may have heard of them and know about their age brackets, I doubt if many know much more about them, especially about their home buying and selling trends.

The National Association of Realtors published an article called 2020 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends in which they provided statistics on different generations’ home purchasing and selling trends.

In this blog, you will find snippets from the NAR article starting with breakdown of each generation age bracket.

The Silent Generation is the oldest living generation, people born between 1925 and 1945. The oldest person in this generation would be 96 and the youngest would be 76 as of this writing.  In 2020, 8% of the sellers and 6% of the buyers came from this group. The buying stat is very interesting. 6 out of 100 buyers were between 76 to 96 years old.  I admire their energy, really.

The next generation is called the Older Boomers or Older Baby Boomers. They were born between 1946 and 1954, making the oldest 75 and the youngest 67. Then there is the Younger Baby Boomers, born between 1955 and 1964. The oldest of this generation would be 66 and the youngest would be 57.

23% of the sellers and 15% of the buyers were older boomers, between 57 and 66 years old.

The younger baby boomers comprised 22% of the sellers and 18% of the buyers in 2020.

After the Baby Boomers, comes the Gen X or generation X. They were born between 1965 and 1979. People in this category would be between 56 and 42 years old.  Gen X people were among the most active folks in real estate in 2020, forming 22% of the sellers and 23% of the buyers. It makes a lot of sense because normally people between the ages of 42 and 56 are at the peak of their careers and financial state.

Next generation is called Generation Y also known as millennials, and they are broken down to the Older and Younger Millennials. The older ones were born between 1980 and 1989, making their ages between 41 and 32 and the younger millennials were born between 1990 and 1998, with the ages between 31 and 23.

The Older Generation Y or Older Millennials were also reported very active in real estate. 19% of the sellers and 25% of the buyers coming from them. The Younger Millennials formed only 3% of the sellers and 13% of buyers.

And the last or the youngest generation of all is called Gen Z or Generation Z, people born between 1999 and present.  The oldest of this generation is 22 years old and youngest could be on his/her way out to the world.  The majority of these folks are not of the legal age to hold real estate in their names and the ones that are, mostly are either still in college or just starting up their careers. Less than 1% of the buyers and sellers were reported from this group in 2020.

Below is the chart showing all the stats shared with you above.