Empty-Nest Boomers Own 28% of Large Homes; Millennials Own Just 16%, Redfin Reports

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Empty-nest Baby Boomers own nearly twice as many U.S. homes with three or more bedrooms as Millennial families do, according to a new report from Redfin, Seattle.

Baby Boomers living in one- to two-adult households own 28% of three-bedroom-plus (“large”) homes in the U.S., and Baby Boomers with households of three adults or more own an additional 7%. (The latter is likely made up of adult children living with their parents.)

By comparison, Millennials with children living at home own 16% of large homes. Redfin analyzed U.S. Census data from 2024 for its report. Redfin noted younger families face both affordability and inventory challenges.

Millennials are the largest generation of parents in the U.S., but they own a relatively small share of family-sized housing for two primary reasons:

• There aren’t enough large homes on the market for the millennial families who need them, partly because in some parts of the country, there aren’t enough small, reasonably priced homes for older Americans to downsize into.

• Home prices and mortgage rates are high; in many parts of the U.S., families are priced out of the housing market.

Redfin noted more than one-quarter (28%) of Millennials aren’t planning to buy a home in the near future because mortgage rates are too high, the most commonly cited reason for not buying among people in that age group who are either renters or long-term homeowners unlikely to move soon, according to a November 2025 Redfin survey.

Meanwhile, Gen Z parents—many of whom are just beginning to enter the housing market—barely register at all, owning less than 1% of the nation’s large homes.

Many Baby Boomers have little financial incentive to move, often benefiting from low mortgage rates or fully paid-off homes. The report said nearly three in five (57.8%) Baby Boomer homeowners have no mortgage at all; their home is fully paid off.

“There are also social and lifestyle reasons to stay put: Baby boomers, in their sixties and seventies, may want to stay in the neighborhoods they’ve lived in for a long time, close to their friends, family, work and/or recreational activities,” the report said.