The profile of property buyers is changing across America as Millennials and Gen Z start to replace Baby Boomers in the market.
Buyers aged 18 to 43 now make up 38% of all Americans who bought a property in 2023, according to the new Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Baby Boomers (those aged 59 to 68) continue to see their participation rate decline. They now represent 31% of all buyers, compared with 39% in 2022.
These latest figures highlight the importance of how you’ll need to market your home when the time comes to sell. Traditional marketing approaches, which are geared to the media consumption of Baby Boomers, need to be modified to capture the attention of Millennials and especially Gen Z (those aged 18 to 24).
Social media has the best cut-through with younger buyers so profiling your home to a targeted audience on Instagram, Facebook and possibly even TikTok should be considered.
NAR has also highlighted the surge of first-time buyers across all age groups. One-third (32%) of all buyers of any residential property entered the market for the first time last year.
Millennials represented 75% of this number while Gen X and Millennials accounted for 24% and 44% of all first-time buyers, according to NAR.
Baby Boomers (45%) were the highest percentage of sellers but even this number is declining, down from 52% in 2022.
“Baby Boomers continue to dominate the home-selling market as they make pivotal decisions regarding their retirement living situations, whether it’s right-sizing or moving closer to loved ones,” NAR said in a statement.
The average length of time owners stay in their home is 10 years across all generations.
However, Millennials are selling and moving within six years, which may indicate their desire to move up the property ladder. Baby Boomers and Gen X are staying in their homes for 15 years.