When millennials go hunting for apartments and condominiums, they are facing stiff competition from baby boomers who are buying condos and renting apartments at nearly twice the rate their younger counterparts are.
According to The Washington Post, about 10,000 baby boomers are retiring every day and surveys show about half plan to downsize when they do, leaving their large suburban homes for urban living areas that remind them of their homes.
“Boomers will pay a premium if you can give them exactly what they want,” Matt Robinson, principal at MRP Realty in the District of Columbia, told the newspaper. “Something closer to what was in their house, and that pushes up the price; they’re happy to pay for it.”
In many instances, millennials cannot compete financially with the retiring baby boomers because of massive student loan debt.
Jefferson Freeman, a 25-year-old researcher at a public affairs firm, is one of the youngest people living in an apartment building in Southeast Washington’s Navy Yard neighborhood. He says that over the past two years, more boomers willing to pay the $2,400 a month that it costs to rent a two-bedroom apartment have moved in. He adds he might have to leave if rent goes much higher.
“A lot of people my age, if prices continue going up, will probably start moving toward big group houses,” he says.
The Washington Post has the full story.
