Baby boomers are buying homes faster in the Midwest and across the South than any other regions of the U.S.
The cohort of buyers ages 59 to 78 purchased homes at the fastest rate in 2023 in Raleigh-Cary, N.C., according to new research from the fintech company SmartAsset, a consumer-facing financial advising firm. The recently published study analyses Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data to identify the metropolitan areas in which boomers bought the greatest number of homes and at what frequency in 2023.
Raleigh saw 8,215 mortgages issued to homeowners in the 'baby boomer' age range last year, relative to a total population of about 300,000 boomers. The median interest rate on baby boomer mortgages in this locale was 6.75%, and the median property value of their purchases was $445,000.
Second and third to Raleigh were Nashville and Phoenix, which had 11,410 and 27,745 new boomer mortgages, respectively.
“Baby boomers are retiring in record numbers,” SmartAsset Managing Editor Jaclyn DeJohn said in her report. “Retirement often signals a major shift in a person’s life. Many retirees choose to downsize to a more manageable home or move to an affordable area to better stretch their fixed dollars. Others simply want to enjoy a different lifestyle with their newfound free time. These shifts in dollars and demand can affect local economies – especially if they’re done en masse.”
Rounding out the top 10 metros boasting the fastest rates of boomer home purchases were Indianapolis, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, Columbus, and Virginia Beach.
The metro area where the highest number of mortgages were issued to baby boomers in 2023 was Atlanta, at 30,181 mortgages. The average income for these households was $99,000, compared to a property value of $395,000. The Phoenix metro had the second-most boomer mortgages issued, at 27,745.
Meanwhile, baby boomers tended to steer clear of San Francisco, where just 2,626 loans were issued among this age group last year – the slowest rate of any metro relative to population.
“Metrics from the San Francisco metro area are unfavorable for affordability, with the average new boomer household earning a median of $216,000, and property values coming in at $1.55 million,” the report read.
Boomers got the best interest rate – a median of 6.625% in 2023 – in Austin, which ranked 28th overall for the rate at which boomers are buying homes, Milwaukee (10th), and San Antonio (25th).
