The Younger Generation That Now Owns More Home Wealth Than The Silent Generation

The Silent Generation, or those born between 1928 and 1945, once held a significant portion of the nation's wealth, including real estate. However, this aging cohort, which is actually the smallest in the last 100 years, has seen its share of wealth steadily declining since the mid-2000s. The younger generation that now owns more home wealth than the Silent Generation is millennials, according to data collected by the Federal Reserve. Millennials are classified as anyone born between 1981 and 1996, and their share of home wealth overtook that of the Silent Generation starting in Q4 of 2020. As of Q2 of 2024, the Federal Reserve reports that millennials own $9.77 trillion in real estate, while the Silent Generation's share of home wealth has dropped to $4.67 trillion.

While millennials overtook the Silent Generation in home wealth, they still fall shy of both baby boomers (who have the most wealth) and Generation X. Federal Reserve data shows that baby boomers own 41% of the nation's real estate, with Generation X not far behind at 30%. Meanwhile, millennials own only 21% of real estate in the United States — proving there's a definite wealth gap between generations. Millennials, who have a median age of 36 in 2025, own two-thirds less real estate than baby boomers did at the same median age. In fact, data shows that when the baby boomer generation was the same median age, in 1991, they had 34% of the country's real estate.

Unfortunately, the main reason millennials even exceeded the homeownership wealth of the Silent Generation is that many people from that era have died. With that said, the continued struggle for millennials to 'catch up' to the home wealth of Generation X and baby boomers does not bode well for their economic outlook. The World Economic Forum points out that baby boomers, whose retirement savings aren't as high as you'd think, were able to enter the housing market when prices were low and inventory was high. However, for millennials, earnings inequality has only increased while median housing prices have risen relative to median income. This is why overtaking the Silent Generation in terms of wealth, despite the group's shrinking population, did not happen until 2020. 

Fortune says that low inventory levels, and the high cost of starter homes, makes it exceedingly challenging for young people to become homeowners. A low credit score is another contributing factor to the challenge of buying a home, with Experian finding that the average millennial credit score in 2024 was 691. While this qualifies for most traditional mortgages, it might not be optimal for getting the best interest rate on a loan. Also, for most households, a primary residence is what makes up the majority of their wealth, so it's troubling that millennials continue to face delayed entry and additional hurdles more than other generations, despite many having already reached their 40s.