From John Burns:
http://www.realestateconsulting.com/
It’s here. Every month, more than a quarter million Americans are turning 65. Almost 80 million Baby Boomers, born over a span of 19 years, are shifting gears towards retirement…or whatever else is next.
Here are a few facts:
- The Boomers are the largest group of shoppers looking for a home today nationally, based on our Consumer Insights survey.
- They were waiting for their home equity to come back, based on our survey in 2012. Now, they have equity in their pockets and they are ready to move.
- More than 10,000 of these Boomers are turning 65 every day. This will continue well into the next decade.
- They are working longer and living longer.
- The Boomers are the most likely to report that they cannot find what they are looking for in today’s existing housing stock.
Of the 22,000 home shoppers who took our 2014 Consumer Insights survey, 42% of them are 55+ and shared with us that:
- Home design will make them move (it is the third-most-important motivator for moving after location and price), but 55% say they can’t find what they are looking for.
- 43% want to downsize, with most wanting 1,500–1,999 square feet.
- Among those without children:
- 46% want to live in a community that is more multigenerational
- 33% want an age-restricted community
- 21% want an age-targeted community
(Preference for age-restricted and age-targeted communities varies widely by geography.)
The opportunities offered by the 55+ population are huge. They represent:
- 25% of the total population
- 50%+ of current homeowners (likely with plenty of equity) and have a homeownership rate in excess of 75%
- 30%+ of total home transactions
All of these rates are only getting bigger. The challenge is that the 55+ homeowner population tends to stay in place—less than 3% move per year, although it is higher for the younger portion of this cohort.
And they hate stairs.
The current largest age group in america is between 22 and 23 years old.
enough said.
Kayla’s age!!!!
The boomers were a little late to the baby making game, but then they made up for it.
They seem to like to go to collage as well.
> Kayla’s age!!!!
And my Alex’s. The 1989-1993 cohort is called the echo boom. The last of the boomers and the first of the olderest boomer’s kids having kids. More born in 1990 than any of the 1946-1964 years.
They appear to be delaying household formation however. That may prove interesting especially if they skip entry level ownership and save up for the houses they grew up in.
For the record, I’m a baby boomer! Although I’m healthy and can climb stairs with no problem, I’ve never liked them. As I got my kids out of college without any student debt, I wasn’t happy with what my money could buy in the Santa Barbara area nor did I want huge property taxes. So with Jim’s advice, I moved out of CA.
The reasons I bought my 2,150 sf home were: upscale home design, single story with a very open floor plan, long entry before living room, gorgeous kitchen, east-facing large backyard and countless windows. It would have cost me well over $1.2 million in CA.
It also has an RV garage. No, I won’t ever be buying an RV, but a real estate agent said, “You can always rent out the space”. And that’s exactly what I did – to a guy with four classic cars. That rent pays all my property taxes and HOA fees with money to spare. Jim featured my home in Idaho on 1/17/2011.
And I learned, yet again, something from Rob Dawg. My youngest, born in 1990, is part of the echo boom. Who knew? 🙂 I had a career before kids and happy I waited to have them. They’ve told me they couldn’t care less that I’m an older mom…
From JtR – a link to Susie’s house: https://www.bubbleinfo.com/2011/01/17/potato-land/
So far the year with highest number of births is 2007,
USA births
2009 births were 4,131,019
1990 births were 4,179,000
1957 births (highest before 2007) was 4,308,000.
@Susie
I’m from Santa Barbara myself. You aren’t missing anything since you have left. I take the kids up there to see my dad every once in awhile. It has been increasingly depressing every time I go. The drought has only made things worse since everywhere you look all the foliage is either dead or in a state of decay.
Santa Barbara has always been a haven for the very wealthy, but the gap between the haves and have nots is palpable. I was able to put myself through UCSB with minimal loans and full time work. There is no way I would be able to do that now. lack of decent work and outrageous rents would make it nearly impossible for me to replicate. The Independent had a great article recently about the lack of decent rentals for all economic classes.