Baby boomers will not trigger a wave of home sales
According to a Raiffeisen study, the high number of baby boomers entering retirement will not result in falling property prices. The willingness of retired owners of houses and flats to move and sell remains extremely low.
Hopes of lower prices on the residential property market as a result of the so-called silver tsunami of baby boomers entering retirement age en masse will not be realised. This is the conclusion of Raiffeisen ‘s property study for the third quarter of 2025, according to which the massive demographic shift triggered by the retirement of the baby boomer generation born between 1955 and 1969 will not lead to a greater supply of residential property and consequently to falling prices.
The main reason for this is their extremely low residential mobility: the relocation rate of homeowners of retirement age is just around 1.5 per cent for both condominiums and single-family homes. In contrast, the relocation rate for retirees living in rented flats is almost three times as high at 4.1 per cent.
“The increase in vacancies in residential property observed from 2023 onwards is not a harbinger that demographic ageing will lead to a structurally higher vacancy rate in property,” explains Raiffeisen’s Chief Economist Fredy Hasenmaile in a press release. “It can be explained primarily by the higher interest rates in the meantime and the resulting temporary loss of the housing cost advantage in property ownership.”
According to Raiffeisen, factors such as the severe supply shortage, low interest rates and immigration have had a much greater impact on price trends than the ageing of society. Demand also far exceeds supply on the rental flat market. Despite the lively public debate, housing construction has not got off the ground. Accordingly, according to Hasenmaile, “a noticeable increase in asking rents and declining vacancy rates must also be expected in the future”.