Daily Real Estate News  |  October 22, 2008  |   Baby Boomers Face Need to Save, Not Spend
Baby Boomer homeowners are putting their homes up for sale and finding that there are fewer buyers, in part because younger generations can’t afford expensive property.

Many observers, including economist and author Harry S. Dent, say things are unlikely to get better until at least 2020 when the millennial generation, which is 79.4 million strong, will finish college and start buying homes.

Many boomers, who lost about $2 trillion of wealth in the recent economic meltdown, plus billions in home equity in the housing downturn, are facing life without much of a financial cushion.

Olivia Mitchell, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton (business) School, believes the recent market crash should have been a wake-up call for boomers.

"The Baby Boomers are going to have to work longer and [spend] less," Mitchell says.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Joe White (10/21/2008)