Rename them the real estate boomer generation: A comprehensive new demographic study reveals that the 78 million Americans born in 1946-1964 have a passion for owning real estate unlike any other group in the nation's history.Consider these findings:
• Ninety-six percent of all boomers believe that owning a home is a very smart financial investment, and nearly four out of five of them now own homes. One in four boomers owns other real estate besides a primary home -- including one or more vacation or seasonal retreats, acreage or income-earning property.
• The value of boomers' primary homes varies sharply by geographic region. Overall, the median market value of their homes nationwide is $181,700. But in the Midwest the median is $143,400, in the South it's $147,800, in the Northeast it's $215,000, and in the West it's $359,100. One of every 14 boomer households in the Western states owns a home worth $1 million or more.