Boomer buyers make comeback

The battle of baby boomers versus millennials is trending in residential real estate markets across the nation, and the elder generation is winning in Chicago’s suburbs. 

Boomers have surpassed millennials as the primary homebuyers in the country, making up 39 percent of the market, and that’s been indicative in Chicago suburbs where open houses are packed and offers are going well beyond initial asking prices, Chicago Agent Magazine reported, citing the National Association of Realtors.

The number of prospective homeowners who are baby boomers rose 29 percent. The boomer generation, typically defined as the age range from 59 to 77, has rivaled millennials, 27 to 42, as the two largest age groups looking for a home.

“It is absolutely a case of millennials versus baby boomers,” Mainstreet President Debbie Pawlowicz told the outlet. “I’m seeing this everywhere. … Although boomers have the edge because they typically have decades of investing equity into their homes.” 

With figures from the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors showing Chicagoland’s single family-market slowing, boomers are driving a bigger share of transactions. Home sales dropped 18.3 percent year-over-year in March to 2,432 sales, and average days on market went up 16.7 percent. 

“The data suggests a longer time on market,” Mainstreet CEO John Gormley said in a recent press release. “But in some areas, time on market is still in the single digits.”

Yet, recent comments from Mainstreet and real estate agents indicate that home-buying was up dramatically from February as the spring selling season got underway. In March, 2,272 sales within Cook County amounted to more than $944 million, compared to 1,399 deals for nearly $549 million in the month prior.

Most millennials are first-time home buyers, and Pawlowicz added that this generation must bring its “A-game” to attain their dream home.

— Quinn Donoghue