The generational divide in the housing market has taken center stage as a TikTok user's rant draws attention to the affordability struggles faced by millennials and Gen Z.
This reaction follows a baby boomer's admission of purchasing a home for $37,000 in 1980 - a figure roughly equivalent to $148,000 today when adjusted for inflation.
"They still point the finger at us for not getting out of our parents' basement - 'You guys are just lazy,'" the TikToker said, encapsulating the disdain younger generations feel when unjustly branded by some baby boomers as indolent, despite an economic landscape that has shifted beneath their feet.
In an ironic twist, a Redfin survey has revealed that a substantial portion of boomers would not be able to afford their homes in the current climate, where home values have surged.
Over the past decade, home values have doubled, with a nearly 50% increase in the last five years, pushing the cost of homeownership to record highs.
The survey posed a critical question to homeowners: Could they afford a home like theirs in their neighborhood if they were to buy it today? Approximately 40% of respondents answered they probably or definitely could not afford it. This sentiment was particularly strong among baby boomers, with 45% stating they couldn't afford a home in their current neighborhood under today's conditions.
"Americans who already own homes benefit from rising values," Redfin senior economist Elijah de la Campa said. "However, this price appreciation makes the prospect of buying a new home daunting or even impossible for many who want to move."
While baby boomers may benefit from the appreciation of their properties, the same rising prices and spiked mortgage rates create barriers for newer entrants into the housing market. This situation contributes to a phenomenon known as the "mortgage-rate lock-in effect," where current homeowners are disincentivized to sell because of unfavorable mortgage rate comparisons.
While baby boomers might reminisce about the good old days when high interest rates were the main obstacle, today's generation faces a more complex array of challenges: inflated property prices, a competitive market with low inventory and a cost of living that has risen disproportionately to wage growth.
The very factors that have allowed baby boomers to accumulate substantial home equity - soaring property values and historically low interest rates for decades - are now pricing younger generations out of the market. This paradox highlights the complexities of the housing crisis, where solutions will require addressing systemic issues around supply, costs and equity.