Downsizing baby boomers who are leaving home ownership behind may send shock waves throughout the real estate market, two new studies warn. “Home ownership demand from younger generations is insufficient to fill the void left by multitudes of departing older owners,” according to Fannie Mae’s Economic Strategic Research group. A separate study by the Stephen S. Fuller Institute at George Mason University says the significant number of older owners in relatively large homes in the Washington, D.C., market may lead to a “baby boomer sell-off” that could be mirrored in others parts of the country.

Baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—own two in five homes in the country. The generations following them occupy only about 14 million homes.

Eventually, health or other issues will force baby boomers to move. Between 2016 and 2026, as many as 11.9 million older owners will end their home ownership status, according to estimates by Fannie Mae. From 2026 to 2036, another 13.1 million to 14.6 million will move as well.

Researchers in the Fannie study warn that this generational unloading of homes could be “negative for the home sales market.” Upcoming generations may not have the desire or be unable financially to buy the homes baby boomer are leaving behind. But it’s impossible to forecast price impacts 10 years ahead, Dowell Myers, a professor at the University of Southern California, told real estate columnist Kenneth R. Harney. “We do not mean to be alarmists,” Myers says, while noting that he hopes the issue will prompt more consideration for public and private policies that may cushion the potential fallout. He points to financing programs, for example, that could help urge more millennials to buy their first homes.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist with the National Association of REALTORS®, is not predicting such doom and gloom as a result of a baby boomer sell-off. He cites population growth in the U.S. and emphasizes the rising importance of foreign-born buyers. There should be “no measurable declines” from baby boomers, he says.

Some cities faced with sluggish population growth are making an enticing offer to consumers: They’ll pay new residents—up to $10,000 in some cases—to make the city their new home. Such incentives are growing more common, according to a new report from Livability. The various metros are hoping to attract new residents to relocate and help them revitalize their economies.

Cities are coming with abundant offers too, from paying off student loans to handing out free plots of land. Here are some of the cities making offers:

• Burlington, Vt.: Vermont is willing to pay new residents up to $10,000 toward moving expenses, as well as a computer and a co-working space for those who move to the state and work remotely.
• Marne, Iowa: Marne officials are offering new residents a free plot of land in the town, which is located between Omaha and Des Moines. The free lots average 80 feet by 120 feet. New residents can use the land to build a conventional or modular home.
• New Haven, Conn.: New Haven offers up to $80,000 in incentives for new homeowners, including $30,000 for energy saving home upgrades; $10,000 in interest-free loans for first-time buyers to use as a down payment; and $40,000 for college tuition to any in-state college for kids who graduate from New Haven public schools.
• Baltimore: The Buying Into Baltimore program offers $5,000 to those relocating anywhere in the city. For those who also work in the city, they’ll throw in another $5,000 toward a first home. For those who buy a fixer-upper through the city’s Vacants to Value Booster program, they’ll receive up to $10,000 to purchase a vacant home and renovate it.
• Harmony, Minn.: The city is offering up to $12,000 in cash for new residents who decide to build a home there.
• Hamilton, Ohio: The Ohio metro is offering up to $5,000 to new residents toward their student loans. Applicants are required to then live in the city’s urban core and show proof of employment in the greater Hamilton area.
• Ludington, Mich.: Small-business owners may be lured to Ludington’s annual contest that awards an entrepreneur with $50,000 for their startup idea. The winner of its Momentum Business Plan Competition is then required to locate their business to Mason County.

Higher mortgage rates and rising home prices are making housing more expensive for homeowners this year compared to last year. In San Jose, Calif., for example, the average homeowner is paying $500 more for monthly mortgage payments than a year ago, jumping from $4,100 to $4,600, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg.

In nearly one-third of metro areas, buyers paid an average $50 hike in monthly mortgage payments in the first quarter of the year. The cities seeing the fastest increases in mortgage payments, according to the Bloomberg study, are:

• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Portland, Ore.
• Jacksonville, Fla.
• Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.

Renters are facing steep hikes in costs, too. Researchers found that more than 10 percent of all metro areas analyzed saw rents rising faster than inflation. Eight of the top 20 priciest markets are in California, with San Jose, San Francisco, and Los Angeles making the top three.

“By many metrics, the U.S. housing market in 2018 is on sound footing,” says Chris Herbert, managing director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. But “in many respects, the situation has worsened for both the lowest-income Americans and those higher up the income ladder.”

In the first three months of 2018, home and rental prices in more than one-fifth of metro areas took more than 30 percent of a household’s income. In nine metro areas, aggregate housing costs comprised 50 percent of income (eight of which were located in California).