Gen X & Millennials Set to Inherit Trillions in Real Estate from Parents
New York, NY, January 16, 2026-"Baby boomers and older Americans have spent decades amassing one of the largest concentrations of private wealth in history. Now, that wealth is starting to be passed down to the next generation-and it’s having a ripple effect across the high-end property market,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
“Over the next decade, roughly 1.2 million individuals with net worths of $5 million or more are projected to pass down more than $38 trillion globally, according to a new report from brokerage Coldwell Banker Global Luxury reviewed exclusively by The Wall Street Journal.
“Real estate is poised to play a significant role in the great wealth transfer. Gen Xers and Millennials are set to inherit $4.6 trillion in global real estate over the next 10 years, according to the report, which incorporated data from research firms Altrata and Cerulli Associates. Nearly $2.4 trillion of that property is located in the U.S.
“Real-estate brokers, attorneys and family offices say they are already seeing profound changes in who buys luxury homes and how purchases are structured. High-net-worth families are bringing children into conversations about inheritance earlier and making high-stakes real-estate decisions sooner.
“It isn’t a new phenomenon for well-off parents to give children a helping hand in securing a first home. But at the high end of the market, agents say more parents aren’t waiting for kids to inherit their wealth; they are buying them luxury properties sooner. It’s reshaping the definition of luxury real estate, as more sellers cater to the tastes and preferences of a younger generation of buyers.
“In Manhattan, for instance, family money is accounting for an increasing share of major transactions.
“‘The price points have just gone wild,’ said Ian Slater, a Compass agent who works with ultrawealthy families in New York. ‘I used to commonly see people buy $3 million to $5 million apartments for their 25- to 30-year-old kids. Now I see people buying $15 to $30 million apartments for their kids.’
“Local agents said the trend is most pronounced in neighborhoods such as Greenwich Village, the West Village and Tribeca, where younger buyers tend to gravitate. It’s also concentrated on condos, rather than co-ops.
“New York’s Greenwich Village is one of the neighborhoods where parents are spending big money on homes for their children.
“‘When you’re buying for children, co-ops are a real no-no,’ since many co-op boards want the occupants of units to be financially independent, said luxury agent Clayton Orrigo. By contrast, condos offer flexibility, which is especially valuable for globally mobile heirs.
Condos are ‘much easier for parents buying for their children in an LLC or a family trust. If their kid is working at Google, but then next year they get transferred to London, the family can rent the apartment out,’ Orrigo said.
“In many of those transactions, the children narrow down options based on taste, while parents and advisers weigh investment considerations. Family offices have become the main point of contact for agents after the initial home-scouting trips, Orrigo said.
“Some ultraluxury condo developers are responding with amenities aimed squarely at younger buyers. One downtown condo at 80 Clarkson Street has a studio for creating podcasts and social media content, Orrigo said.
“The gravitational shift toward downtown is already having a cooling effect on traditionally upscale uptown markets. For years now, sellers in New York’s most exclusive cooperatives on Park and Fifth Avenues-white-glove, doorman buildings that once symbolized old-money elegance and exclusivity-have struggled to command the same record-setting prices as their new downtown counterparts. Their price growth has lagged well behind condominiums.”