Baby Boomers: The New Buyers

While baby boomers largely disappeared from the city's real estate market in the wake of the financial crisis, experts say this key demographic is now becoming active again. By 2030, Manhattan's population of people aged 65 and older is expected to surge nearly 60 percent as the baby boom generation ages.

Falling prices are beginning to stabilize, and many of the city's boomers are now putting their large apartments and townhouses on the market as they look to downsize to one- and two-bedroom homes. Suburban empty nesters are also reentering the market with plans to retire in the city, trading in their large, labor-intensive houses for apartments rich in services.

The preferences of these buyers and sellers have already begun to shape the market in some neighborhoods and buildings and will increasingly sculpt the next wave of real estate sales.

The term 'baby boomers' refers to anyone born between 1946 and 1964, during the explosion of more than 77 million births that followed World War II. As the oldest of this generation approaches retirement, the number of people over 65 in Manhattan is projected to rise to 295,000 by 2030, up 57.9 percent from 2000, according to city data.

Many boomers are looking to retire in urban settings, for at least part of the year, rather than decamping to warmer climates, according to Paul Bishop, the vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors, which published a 2006 study called "Baby Boomers and Real Estate."

"Boomers are looking to move back into an urban setting after years in the suburbs," said Bishop, noting that cities like New York are attractive because they offer easy access to public transportation, health care, culture and restaurants.

Heavy losses in home equity and their stock portfolios caused boomers to largely disappear from the New York City real estate market after the financial crisis of 2008.

The number of baby boomers buying and selling homes in the city will only grow in years to come, brokers said.

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