Baby boomers in one- or two-person adult households own more than a quarter of large homes in the United States, according to a Redfin analysis.

The real estate company looked at ownership of U.S. homes with three or more bedrooms in 2024 and found that the cohort owns 27.8%.

Furthermore, one- to two-adult Gen X households make up 12.4% of owner-occupied homes. When combined, those empty nesters own more than a third of the country’s largest homes.

In comparison, millennial households with children own just 15.7% of the country’s three-plus-bedroom homes, while Gen X households with kids own 9.5% and Gen Z households with kids own just 0.7% — meaning growing families are squeezing into smaller spaces while empty nesters are stretching out their wings and enjoying their extra breathing room.

Redfin also noted that millennials are currently the largest generation, making the rate of boomer homeownership even more outsized in comparison.

Among other cohorts of homeowners, Gen X households with three or more adults own 9.3% of owner-occupied homes; boomer households with three or more adults own 7%; Silent Generation households with one or two adults own 6.8%; millennial households with one or two adults own 6.4%; millennial households with three or more adults own 1.7%; Gen Z households with one or two adults own 1.3%; Silent Generation households with three or more adults own 0.9%; boomer households with children own 0.5%; and Gen Z households with three or more adults own 0.2%.

The reasoning behind this trend is twofold, Redfin said: While there aren’t enough large homes for millennial families, there also aren’t enough small houses — ones the perfect size for starter homes, or for downsizing after children have moved out.

The evolution of millennial homeownership

Looking to the future, millennials aren’t so hopeful about homeownership: Based on a November 2025 survey, more than a quarter of the generation says they won’t buy a home soon because of high mortgage rates, while one in five won’t due to the burden of saving for a down payment.

Meanwhile, boomers have little incentive to sell, with many locked into sweetheart mortgage rates or fully-paid-off homes. Older adults are also often firmly planted in their communities, hesitant to move away from friends, family or work.

“Younger buyers are looking to move into single-family homes in specific neighborhoods — those with a family-friendly vibe and highly-rated schools,” said Redfin Premier Agent Brenda Beiser. “The problem is, younger families have a hard time finding those homes because the older people living in them can’t find anywhere they want to move to.”

Beiser added that empty nesters who want to downsize often can’t find move-in ready homes in their price range.

“There’s a lack of movement that’s keeping both older and younger buyers where they are, even though the older ones want a smaller one and the younger ones want a bigger home,” Beiser explained.

Despite the discrepancy in homeownership among millennials with families, the cohort has seen major gains over the past decade. In 2014, millennial parents owned just 4.9% of owner-occupied homes. In comparison, empty-nest boomer homeownership has stayed relatively steady, increasing just 0.1% over the past 10 years. During the same time period, Silent Generation homeownership decreased from about 18% to 8%.

Millennial homeownership by metro

Empty-nest boomer households outnumber millennial households with children in every major U.S. metro, owning at least a 20% share in every market — but several metros are home to far more millennial parents than others.

The metro with the highest rate of millennial households with children is Austin, Texas, at 19.2% (compared to 22% for childfree boomers); Columbus, Ohio, at 19.2% (25.3% for boomers); and Minneapolis at 18.9% (25.% for boomers).

On the flip side, the metros with the lowest rates of millennial parent homeownership are Los Angeles at 10.5% (compared to 23.9% for childfree boomers) and Miami at 12.5% (23.8% for boomers).