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Millennials to Boomers: "Please update your homes." Boomers: "No!"

Millennials are worried they’ll inherit properties in need of major renovations and repairs, which could further hamper affordability, a new survey shows.

Young move-up home buyers are growing increasingly worried that baby boomers, many of whom are staying put in their current home, won’t update their properties and will pass down costly renovations and repairs to the next generation of owners, according to a new study from Morning Consult and Leaf Home, a national home improvement company.

Many baby boomers are choosing not to downsize, with 68% saying they’ve lived in their homes for 30 years or more, the study shows. Many in that group admit they’ve never done renovations or replaced major appliances—and they don’t have any plans to, either.

Researchers say this could become a nightmare scenario for millennials, who may inherit or purchase these “time capsule” homes. Younger buyers’ budgets already are stretched thin by high home prices and mortgage rates. It’s difficult for many to add pricey renovations to their homebuying budget.

Home Sales Were the Lowest in Almost 30 Years in 2023

The National Assn. of Realtors said Friday that existing U.S. home sales totaled 4.09 million last year, an 18.7% decline from 2022. That is the weakest year for home sales since 1995 and the biggest annual decline since 2007, the start of the housing slump of the late 2000s.

In California, home sales fell 24.8% in 2023 from the previous year, the biggest drop since the 2007 housing slump, according to the California Assn. of Realtors. The state’s median home price — the point at which half the homes sold for more and half sold for less — reached $819,740 in December, up 6.4% from a year earlier.

Source: Los Angeles Times