With some 11,200 Boomers hitting 65 every day between now and the end of 2027, the US is looking at a bulge in retirees that will transform society. And those Boomers will eventually pass on the wealth they have accumulated in the coming decades, tens of trillions of dollars, with some estimates as high as $100 trillion by the middle of the century.

But the typical Gen X-er, Millennial or Gen Z-er will not inherit wads of cash or easy-to-liquidate equities. A lot of wealth coming their way is tied up in the family home.

Federal Reserve data reveals that most upper-middle and middle-class families have about a quarter of their net worth tied up in real estate, and for those at lower economic tiers the family home is often about half or more of an estate. 

This reality complicates the coming wealth transfer. Houses are not liquid and can cause issues among siblings. Many family members will want to sell and get the cash, but first attics must be emptied out and many garages must be purged of decades of detritus. Some heirs may want to rent out the property and earn income, but many older homes require extensive repairs. Buyout offers may be extended, but first the house must be appraised, a home inspection scheduled. 

Meanwhile, the property taxes still need to be paid. Insurance costs inevitably rise. There are expenses to maintain the family house. All this whittles into the estate that is to be transferred.

Yes, property inheritance can get complicated.

The so-called “Silver Tsunami” that is coming is seen by some as a solution to the housing shortage, as the passing of a generation that represents a population bulge will free up more homes for the market. However, this hope may be misplaced.

Cotality, the property data and analytics firm, says their reading of US Census data reveals that this older generation is holding on to their homes longer and slowing the supply of new homes coming to the market. More than 22% of homeowners born in 1938 left their homes between the ages of 65 and 75. Of homeowners born in 1946, — only 17% moved on in that same 10-year period. 

The Boomer generation, the largest group of seniors in US history, own a historically large portion of the nation’s homes, Cotality reports. At 65, those born in 1948, the beginning of the boomer years, owned 50% more homes than those born 10 years earlier when they were the same age.

Still, some 340,000 properties were inherited in 2025, a record 7% of all US property transfers.

A report from Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Over found that about roughly 1.2 million individuals with net worths of $5 million or more will pass down more than $38 trillion globally, according to The Wall Street Journal.

And a good chunk of that wealth transfer will be real property — Gen X-ers and millennials will inherit $4.6 trillion in real estate over the next 10 years, with about $2.4 trillion of that property located in the US.

Real-estate brokers and attorneys and family offices told the Journal that they are seeing dramatic changes in who buys luxury homes and how the deals are structured. High-net-worth families are educating their children about inheritance at younger ages and making decisions about real estate sooner. 

They are buying luxury properties for their children at younger ages, and money is no object.  

“The price points have just gone wild,” Ian Slater, an agent in New York City, told the Journal. “I used to commonly see people buy $3 million to $5 million apartments for their 25- to 30-year-old kids. Now I see people buying $15 to $30 million apartments for their kids.”

Financial experts who cater to the wealthy said more families are setting up limited liability companies or limited partnerships so parents can share ownership with their children and let them take control over time. This would allow real-estate assets to appreciate outside of the older generation’s taxable estate, limiting inheritance taxes when parents die.

(Like F. Scott Fizgerald said: “Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.”)

As Boomers pass on, we’re likely to see a growth in accidental landlords, which will not have much of an impact on the housing shortage.

More are aging in place these days, slowing the process of downsizing, moving in with family, and finally passing homes to the next generation. These trends will delay the “Silver Tsunami,” and the predicted flood of housing to the open market, and some of those homes will not find their way on to Zillow.

Cotality bluntly assessed how the coming property transfer will impact the housing shortage:

Policymakers hoping to improve affordability cannot count on demographic destiny to save the day. While inheritance can be a lifeline for some families coping with historically high housing costs, those waiting on inheritances to rebalance supply and demand are likely to be left out in the cold. If America wants supply, we must build it.

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