1 in 3 Baby Boomers Say They’ll Never Sell Their Home

I'm surprised they even included 'Silent Generation' in this survey. Those people are 82 at the young end, and in their 90s at the older end. Are they really thinking about 'selling or staying' at their ages ? I would assume if they haven't downsized yet, they never will. If they're holding on to property value to move into an ALF or senior housing later, they're not selling. Or they will leave their property to their children (boomers and X ) or grandchildren (X and millennials).

1 in 3 are probably house poor

The federal government should straight up confiscate their houses. Fuck boomers. Die faster already.

And what generation do your parents belong to, R3? Are they old enough to die faster?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Boomers are the worst. The most entitled generation. Got handed everything and act like a bunch of victims.

I might be typical: too set in my ways to uproot after 20 years here; spent tons of money to improve the house over the years; too stressful and expensive to move anywhere else that would be better; in an expensive Blue state, and no desire to move to a cheaper Red State; and no desire to risk worse neighbors (the ones I have are bad enough).

So what exactly does all this mean? And what's the difference between the groups identified in the first line of the article and the third line?

[quote] An additional 30% of baby boomers who own their home say they’ll hold onto it for at least a decade.

[quote] Another 30% say they’ll sell their home at some point, but not within the next decade.

Aren’t Boomers hitting 80 now?

I’m hanging onto my house for my kids.

When I’m gone they can sell it. If it’s not paid off it will still have substantial equity.

This boomer isn’t hanging on for selfish reasons.

Most old people want to stay in their homes - this isn't anything new.

Moving is stressful - and move where? There's a huge comfort being in a place that you're familiar with, your neighbors, shops and massive amounts of memories.

I'm surprised that 2/3 ARE selling their homes. Downsizing is a big effort that a lot of people don't want to deal with.

And some older people want to keep the larger homes for family holidays, for grandkids to have a place to stay when visiting, etc.

This isn't anything new.

Is 30% high? Why should they move? It's probably paid off. Many people already have moved to a place that's appropriate for retirement (single story or condo). About 20% of the population moves every year so 30% isn't hugely different.

Like R10, I'm surprised it's only a third that say they're never selling. Hubby and I worked for years to land in our home, and we both say that we intend on leaving this house feet-first. We both then admit that the house is probably too much for a single person to handle and whoever survives will probably sell and move into a condo or if the time is right, an assisted living facility. But that is years (hopefully, decades) away.

We need to build ourselves out of this housing mess, we need zoning changes and incentives to build smaller housing.

The problem with that is that the Boomers who aren't moving use their power over local zoning laws to kill any development projects.

We aren't going to build ourselves out of the housing crisis until government steps in with incentives and tax breaks to build low-end, starter and smaller homes... which is to say, we aren't going to build ourselves out of the housing crisis. (Sorry to go political, but Kamala had a plan to do this, but we'd much prefer to round up and disappear brown people as though that were a plan to create more housing, and I say this because there is a MAGAt belief that a whole bunch of houses are going to suddenly come on the market for cheap when these immigrants are deported. Yeah, all those nannies and gardeners are living the high life.)

When I fantasize about what I would do if I were a billionaire, building housing is one of the activities I dream about. I'd love to build whole communities, from subdivisions to high rise apartments everywhere from city centers to the far-flung boondocks. I also have an interest in multi-generational housing with the idea that grandparents, parents and adult children could live in a large structure or multiple-structure compounds — with enough space for some privacy, but close enough to share and care for each other. Alas, unless I win the lottery it is but a pleasant thought experiment.

I fall at the late years of the Baby Boomer generation. Everyone of my age that I know in the U.S. has bought and sold and bought and sold and, on whole, made quite a good bit of money on the property ladder.

The 1946-1964 range means they are 60 to 79 years old. If they are like my friends their appetite for buying and selling has waned, their mortgage, if they had one, is paid off or very nearly so, and they are retired or contemplating when to do. They see their house as a reserve of money that could be cashed out or their style of living downscaled if/when, sometime later, they have the need or desire. They see the current environment as volatile financially, and they have no confidence that around their next step will be one rung up as was a reasonable bet on their past exchanges.

Simply put, they've lost the appetite to another round of buying and selling until there's some compelling personal reason to do it.

They're saying "never for now", not "never until death "

they will die

I'm not really sure what people are reacting to here. Baby boomers are old now and most elderly people aren't looking to relocate unless they're moving to assisted living or some geriatric mecca in the sunbelt, both of which options are far out of reach for many elderly people. My parents were silent gen and they lived in their last house for 20 years until my dad died at 89. Apparently Gen Z thinks this is the epitome of evil and they should have been apartment hunting and apartment hopping through their final years.

Forcing old people out of their homes is not going to solve the housing crisis. Building affordable homes with construction incentivized by government investment will, though. This is misplaced anger. Go after the shitty developers who only build homes for wealthy people and the government officials who refuse to do anything about it instead.

[quote]The federal government should straight up confiscate their houses. Fuck boomers. Die faster already.

As fast as Zoomers ? Sorry - Boomers know better than eating Tide Pods, inhaling household cleaning agents, and walking backwards over a cliff to take 'the perfect selfie for insta'. Soon, there will be no Gen Z.

Saying "Never" is not that impressive anymore once you're past 70.....

Instead of blaming older or old people for not moving from the homes they probably own outright and love (and why should they?) - stop Air BnB and other prospector / investor only development. If you are buying up all the new housing in an area just to be greedy and gentrify or make it non affordable for the average people that live there - YOU are the problem.

My sister and brother-in-law were married in 1970. In 1971, they bought the home they live in to this day.

They will both be carried out of there feet first.

R7 I understand it as this:

An additional 30% of baby boomers who own their home say they’ll hold onto it for at least a decade = Selling their home is the furthest thing on their minds. They're not interested in selling for the next decade, and probably not selling beyond that as well. (They don't see any situation which would prompt them to sell).

Another 30% say they’ll sell their home at some point, but not within the next decade = Selling their home is definitely on their radar, but they will hold on to it for at least a decade. In year eleven, they most likely will list it if things go as planned.

Allow the 70somethings their belief/denial. Some will be right, they can still live independently in their same old homes 10 years from now. Others, well, all kinds of things can and will go wrong as we age.

They are sometimes in denial and feel entitled a middle class life when in reality it’s a bit beyond their reach.

[quote]Boomers are the worst. The most entitled generation. Got handed everything and act like a bunch of victims.

You can fuck right off with this bullshit. How many had to die in Vietnam?

We’re staying where we’ve been for the last 26 years until it’s too much to handle. The house is going to a younger friend when we’re gone. If we can’t manage the place we’ll sell, but I love where we live. It’s close to transit, groceries, restaurants, and the gym. I have a 3% mortgage and a lot of equity. I have a garage. I have space and privacy and pay really low taxes in a safe city.

There’s no reason to leave.

Probably live near kids.

Don’t move, Mom and Dad!!

Why is Gen Z included? They own homes?

How many boomers stay in declined neighborhoods? I think there’s a mentality where some do the white flight thing once their pearls get clutched, but I think some old folks stay in bad neighborhoods and refuse to leave, even for safety reasons. I say this as someone who’s parents live in an urban neighborhood that has moderate crime that I wouldn’t live within 20 minutes of.

R31 The parents sound rather courageous if it's as bad as you say it is. You, on the other hand, sound like a wimp.

R25 it's bot necessarily denial. Some people have no choice but to age in place in the home they've lived in for years because of their financial situation. Not everyone retires with an abundant 401k and another million in savings when they retire. Many people work their whole lives and have little to show for it at the end except the house that they paid off. Assisted living is very expensive and most can never afford it.