Bigger than boomers: Millennials now prime target

The Millennial generation is larger than the baby boomers – 87 million versus 76 million – and they’re expected to be a huge force in the real estate market in the coming years.

The number of households in their 30s is expected to increase by 2.7 million over the coming decade, which should boost demand for new housing, according to a housing report by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

For years, boomers were the largest, healthiest and wealthiest cohort on the generational landscape.
Millennials are not only bigger in size but they’re also more diverse, U.S. Census data showed. Only 56 percent of Millennials are white. Babies born today mark the first generation where whites make up only 50 percent of the population, and in a few years, white children will no longer make up the majority, according to U.S. Census data.

Last year, the most common age in America was 22 years old. Of the 4.7 million 22-year-olds, 56 percent were white; 20 percent were Hispanic; 15 percent were black; and 5 percent were Asian.

In comparison, there were 4.4 million 55-year-olds last year, and 71 percent of them were white; 11 percent were Hispanic; 12 percent were black; and 5 percent were Asian.
The median age of Americans is 37.6 years old, according to the Census.