The ‘silver tsunami’ is about to hit the housing market—but millennials and Gen Zers may not come out any better in the wash

A “silver tsunami” of baby boomers will start downsizing next year and 2025. (Credit: Getty Images/Robert Daly)

In terms of the housing market, baby boomers pretty much have it made. They own homes worth a whopping $18 trillion combined, compared to just about $5 trillion for millennials as of the first quarter of 2023, according to a Redfin report released in August.

But a big change is on the horizon for the housing market, says an analyst who also predicted the financial crisis of 2008. Meredith Whitney, deemed the “Oracle of Wall Street” by Bloomberg, says a “silver tsunami” of baby boomers will start downsizing next year and 2025. Citing an AARP report, Whitney said 51% of people over the age of 50 are set to downsize to smaller homes. That would bring more than 30 million housing units to the market, she said during Yahoo Finance’s Invest Conference on Tuesday.