Boomers Make Waves in Single-Family Market

It seems Baby Boomers hold all the power–at least when it comes to the single-family housing market.

According to a recent blog by Sean Becketti, VP and Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, Boomers and other homeowners over the age of 55 control nearly two-thirds of the nation’s home equity. Currently, more than 67 million homeowners are 55 or older and they hold an $8 trillion stake in the industry.

To better gauge the actions and interests of this powerful sector, Freddie Mac recently conducted a 55+ Survey, which polled 4,900 homeowners born before 1961. One of the primary findings was that Boomers are quite happy with their homeownership statuses. In fact, 64 percent of them say they’re “very satisfied” with their current home, while another 59 percent say they’re happy with their community. Another 54 percent are satisfied with their quality of life.

The survey also revealed that homeownership is financially beneficial to Boomers. A whopping 76 percent say they are confident they’ll have a comfortable retirement, and 25 percent were even able to give down payment assistance to another person.

Surprisingly, the majority of Boomers aren’t planning to move or downsize. More than 60 percent say they plan to age where they are, and only about 23 percent say their home would need major renovations in order to remain accessible.

Out of the nearly 40 percent who do plan to move, a large chunk plan to actually buy a home – not rent or move to a nursing home or assisted living facility. On top of this, 8 million Boomers say they’ll make those moves within the next four years.

According to Becketti, it’s these potential moves that could mean big things for the housing market.

“These are big numbers with the potential to tighten homebuying competition in the housing market, especially for Millennials and other first-time homebuyers,” Becketti said. “They also have the potential to generate significant new demand for mortgage credit.”

Click here to see the full Freddie Mac 55+ Survey.