Survey Finds Surprising Generation Trends in the Real Estate Market

"Gen X may not be getting as much attention these days as the (forever) up-and-coming millennial generation, but it’s making its mark on the housing market as the only generation to buy more homes last year than it did in the previous one," reports Clare Trapasso.

Those findings according to the latest National Association of Realtors® Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends survey, which explains the Gen X real estate resurgence as a sign of recovery from the Great Recession.

Still, despite the growth of Generation X's influence in the real estate market, Millennials still bought the most houses, according to the survey, buying 34 percent of the homes on the market. The survey also found evidence of a long-debated possibility: that Millennials are ditching the urban environment for more suburban settings. "Only about 15% of millennials bought homes in urban areas, according to the survey. That’s down from 17% the year before and 21% the year before that." Meanwhile, 57% of Millennials bought homes in the suburbs, up from 51% the year before.

Moreover, it seems that Baby Boomers are driving the urban boom these days. Realtor found that 22% of boomers surveyed bought homes in urban areas, for a much higher percentage than Millennials could muster. Still, 49% of boomers bought homes in the suburbs.

Trapasso also gathered quotes to explain the trends from Lynn Richards, president and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism, and Dowell Myers, public policy professor at the University of Southern California.