Jon Brooks @jonbrooks

Demand for oversized suburban homes is collapsing because the groups who used to buy them either don’t want them, can’t afford them, or no longer exist in the same numbers. Supply is rising as boomers age out of homeownership, leaving a mismatch that the market can’t absorb. Gen Z’s preferences are fundamentally different: They prefer walkable, urban, amenity-rich environments. They don’t want long commutes. They don’t want high-maintenance homes. They don’t want to furnish or heat/cool 3,500 sq ft. They value flexibility, not “forever homes.” To them, a giant suburban house feels like a liability, not an achievement. Millennials are the largest homebuying cohort, but: 1. Wages didn’t keep up with home prices 2. Childcare costs exploded 3. Student loans remain heavy 4. Mortgage rates doubled 5. Down payments are harder to save 6. Inflation hit everything from insurance to utilities A $900k–$1.2M boomer house is simply out of reach for most. Even high earners hesitate because the carrying costs are enormous. Foreign capital used to be a major demand driver for large suburban homes, especially: Chinese buyers, Canadian buyers, Middle Eastern buyers, Latin American buyers But: Capital controls tightened. Geopolitical tensions rose. U.S. real estate became less attractive. Interest rates made cash deployment less appealing. Some states passed restrictions on foreign ownership. That demand evaporated. A stranded asset is something that used to have high value but no longer has a viable buyer base. Large suburban homes fit that definition in many metros: 1. Boomers are aging out and selling. 2. Millennials can’t afford them. 3. Gen Z doesn’t want them. 4. Foreign buyers are gone. 5. Investors don’t want illiquid, high-maintenance properties. 6. Families are smaller — fewer kids, fewer multigenerational households. So you get thousands of listings sitting stale, especially in: Phoenix suburbs, Las Vegas suburbs, Dallas exurbs, Atlanta exurbs, Midwest commuter belts, and Florida non-coastal interior markets. These homes were built for a demographic reality that no longer exists. The problem isn’t just price — it’s function.