DOWNEY — Nearly half of all homeowners in Downey are Baby Boomers, according to a report released Wednesday.

The Baby Boomer generation is generally defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the post–World War II baby boom.

The analysis by Construction Coverage examined homeownership and demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Homeownership has long been considered part of the American dream. But first-time home buyers, especially millennials and Gen Xers, are facing an uphill battle when it comes to house hunting. This is in part because of a growing trend in which Baby Boomers, the generation that owns the largest share of American homes, are planning to stay put. 

In fact, a 2018 survey conducted by AARP found that 76 percent of Americans over the age of 50 would prefer to remain in their current home—rather than move in with family, to a nursing home, or to an assisted living facility—which is leading to less inventory for new buyers.

In Downey, 44.9% of homeowners are baby boomers.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the share of homeowners over the age of 55 has been steadily increasing. In 2008, at the onset of the Great Recession, Americans over the age of 55 owned 44.3 percent of homes. By 2019, that percentage had increased to 53.8 percent. 

While the share of homeowners under the age of 35 remained fairly steady within the same time span, the share of homeowners between the ages of 35 and 54 decreased from 42.3 percent to 34.1 percent.

Here is a summary of the data for Downey:

Percentage of homeowners that are baby boomers: 44.9%

Baby boomer population share: 18.8%

Number of baby boomer-owned households: 6,685

Number of baby boomer-rented households: 4,481

Median home price: $621,959

For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:

Percentage of homeowners that are baby boomers: 41.9%

Baby boomer population share: 22.6%

Number of baby boomer-owned households: 32,954,169

Number of baby boomer-rented households: 9,968,993

Median home price: $256,663