Over 50% of Boomers Think Younger Generations Could Buy a Home if They “Tried Harder”

Only 15% of today’s Baby Boomer homeowners have any plans to sell their homes in the next five years. And more than half (54%) have no intention of ever doing so. 

That’s according to new research from Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis-based real estate company, which surveyed 1,100 American Boomers to get some clarity on their perspective as it relates to homeownership and the housing affordability crisis. 

Twenty percent of those Boomer respondents have never owned a home. Six in ten of them (61%) currently own homes. And less than one-third of those Boomer homeowners (30%) expect to sell their homes by the mid-2030s. 

Among the factors behind that reluctance to sell is the belief, held by 76% of Boomer homeowners, that homeownership is the primary reason for their financial security. Nearly nine out of ten (86%) believe owning a home leads to a more stable home life. 

Nearly half (46%) say they would consider themselves a failure if they did not own a home. 

Two-thirds of Boomer respondents who have never owned a home (66%) regret it. On the flipside, almost half of those who no longer own homes (47%) say they would not recommend homeownership to younger generations.  

Almost two-thirds of Boomer respondents who do plan to sell their home (65%) expect a profit of more than $100,000 from the sale. Four in ten (40%) expect $200,000 or more. 

Read on for more insights from the survey.

Boomer stats on the first home purchase

Fifty percent of Boomers who have bought a home paid $75,000 or less on their first home purchase; 64% paid less than $100,000. 

At the time, 44% of Boomers earned less than $30,000 a year—one-fourth of the $120,000 in annual income required today to own the median-priced U.S. home at about $332,000. 

It’s also worth noting that fewer than half of Boomers in the survey (47%) needed two incomes to buy their homes. And only 6% considered high home prices one of their biggest hurdles to homeownership. 

Housing affordability through the Boomer lens

Fast forward to today, and only 50% of American Boomers think they could still afford to buy a home. More than one in 10 (12%) believe affording a home presents more challenges for them than for any other generation. 

Despite that, 42% of Boomers believe younger generations had an easier time buying a home in their 20s than they did. And 41% see their generation as the least responsible for the affordable housing crisis. 

Nearly four in 10 (39%) believe they’re still the best generation to lead U.S. housing policy.

More than half of the Boomers in the survey (57%) think younger generations could afford to buy a home if they “tried harder.” And about seven in 10 (69%) believe the world would be a better place—with fewer problems—if younger generations were more like them. 

Granted, those percentages still leave large numbers of Boomers who believe otherwise. 

Read the full report for more information, including additional charts and methodology.