Boomers own KC's family-size homes
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Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios
Empty nesters are sitting on Kansas City's family-size homes.
Why it matters: The people who have the space aren't necessarily the ones who need it — and that's making a tight housing market even tighter.
By the numbers: Boomer empty nesters own 27.8% of KC homes with three-plus bedrooms, while millennial parents own 18.6%, according to a Redfin analysis of the latest census data from 2024.
- Nationally, those shares are 28% and 16%, and Gen Z parents own less than 1%.
Zoom in: KC's millennial families rank among the best-positioned in the country, tied with Indianapolis and Oklahoma City and trailing only Austin, Texas, Columbus, Ohio, and Minneapolis.
- The lowest shares are in Los Angeles, Miami and San Jose, California.
- Empty-nester boomers own more than 30% of large homes in Memphis, Tennessee, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
Between the lines: Older homeowners have plenty of reasons to age in place.
- Many are mortgage-free or locked into low mortgage rates.
- Boomers may also want to stay put to remain near family, keep their routines or avoid packing up decades of belongings.
Meanwhile, millennial families run into both supply and affordability challenges when trying to move into larger homes, per Redfin.
- There aren't enough family-size homes on the market, while high home prices and mortgage rates have priced many younger buyers out.
Yes, but: Millennials have gained ground — from owning around 5% of large U.S. homes in 2014 to 16% in 2024 — partly by buying homes once owned by the Silent Generation, per Redfin.
- Boomer empty nesters who own large homes barely budged in that time.
What we're watching: Whether more of the metro's large homes hit the market as more homeowners start to give up their low mortgage rates.