Empty-nest baby boomers across the United States own nearly double the number of large homes compared to millennial families with children, highlighting a stark generational imbalance in the current housing market.

According to a report published Thursday by real estate brokerage Redfin, baby boomers living in one- to two-adult households occupy 28% of the nation’s homes with three or more bedrooms. By comparison, millennials with children living at home own just 16% of these properties.

Redfin noted an additional 7% of large homes are owned by baby boomer households with three or more adults, a category that likely encompasses adult children living with their aging parents.

The report, which analyzed 2024 census data, emphasizes that this generational disparity holds true across every major U.S. metro area.

The geographic breakdown shows the tightest grip on large homes by empty nesters is in Memphis, Tenn., where they own 31.2% of the metro area’s homes with three or more bedrooms. Cleveland followed close behind at 30.9%, while Pittsburgh ranked third with a 30.6% rate. 

At the other end of the spectrum, empty nesters owned the smallest share of large homes in Salt Lake City, where they held 20.1% of the metro’s large homes in 2024, followed by Riverside, Calif. (21.4%) and Austin, Texas (22%).

This generational divide is driven primarily by a lack of financial incentives and available inventory for older people to move, compounded by affordability challenges for younger buyers. According to Redfin’s analysis, nearly 57.8% of baby boomer homeowners have fully paid off their mortgages. For those who still carry a mortgage, many are locked into much lower interest rates from previous years.

Consequently, downsizing could result in a similar or higher monthly payment. Beyond financial constraints, Redfin highlights that many older homeowners prefer to remain in established neighborhoods close to their friends, family and long-term routines.

Despite being the largest generation of parents in the U.S. today, millennials face a severe shortage of family-sized inventory alongside prohibitively high housing costs. A Redfin survey fielded by Ipsos in November 2025 found that 28% of millennials are delaying home purchases specifically because mortgage rates remain too high, while nearly 20% cited an inability to save for a downpayment.

However, this week’s report did reveal glimmers of progress. Despite the current disparity, a larger share of millennial families own big homes than in 2014, with the current figure of 15.7% a notable increase from 4.9% over a decade ago.

According to the report’s methodology, millennials were 28 to 43 years old in 2024, while baby boomers were 60 to 78.