The Washington Post
Jessica Lautz, NAR's deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said the older and younger halves of the millennial generation have different reasons for buying fewer homes right now. "If we look at someone who is an older millennial in their 40s, if they are a homeowner, they’ve locked in a low interest-rate mortgage," Lautz said. "They may not be in a place in their life where they need to move. So they may be entrenched. At the same time, younger millennials have been shut out of the market." Meanwhile, Lautz said, boomer homeowners "have equity and the freedom to make moves." The generational shifts come as the median age of first-time home buyers has crept upward, reaching 38 last year, according to NAR. In the 1980s, typical first-time buyers were in their late 20s. Now, people selling their old homes represent a higher share of people buying new ones, so it’s no surprise that boomers also make up the largest share of sellers — 53 percent of the total, according to NAR.