Single-family home building activity in the first quarter was primarily focused in counties where baby boomers make up the majority of the population, according to an NAHB analysis of county level permit data. The tendency for home building activity to be focused in counties with a majority of baby boomers dates back to 2016, according to the analysis.
The boomer market share has been increasing since the fourth quarter of 2019, when it stood at 52.6% of the single-family construction market. As of the first quarter of 2023, the baby boomer market share has increased 5.5 percentage points to 58.1% market share.
All other generations have lost market share by this measure over the same period, with millennials’ market share falling from 29.1% to 24.7%, Generation X falling from 4.6% to 4.3% and Generation Z falling from 13.7% to 12.8%.
Despite millennials making up the majority share of population in just 179 counties, these counties have the largest market share of overall multifamily building. Since 2016, counties where millennials make up the largest share of population have been the leaders in multifamily building with their market share never falling below 52.0% over the seven-year span. As of the first quarter of 2023, areas where millennials make up the largest share of population accounts for 52.3% of multifamily home building. Baby boomers make up the next highest market share at 35.5%, while Generation Z has a market share of 9.4%. Generation X has the smallest market share of only 2.8% of the multifamily building market.
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