Boomers Control The Equity

Never a generation to shy away from the norm, Baby Boomers are changing what it means to be an older homeowner in the U.S. “Baby Boomers—like Peter Pan—refuse to grow older,” says a Freddie Mac report titled Fun After Fifty. “Instead of moving to seniors-oriented communities, they ‘age-in-place’ or, even better, move into the heart of a walkable city.” The age 55 and older population represents a little over a quarter of the U.S. population, but they control roughly two-thirds of the equity in single-family homes, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. What this generation plans to do with their own housing, the impact of these decisions reverberates throughout the U.S. housing market and has an effect on younger homebuyers.

“Their numbers and their housing wealth guarantee that the housing decisions of older homeowners will play an outsized role in shaping the housing opportunities available to the generations that follow them—Gen X and the massive Millennial generation,” states the Freddie Mac report. To gauge the influence of the 55+ population on U.S. housing, Freddie Mac commissioned market research firm GfK to survey a nationally-representative sample of the 55+ population in early 2016 on their attitudes towards their current and future housing options. One of the most common opinions expressed by adults aged 55 and older was that they want to age in place. When thinking about their preference to relocate, 63% said they want to remain stay in their current residence, while 37% said they would like to move at least one more time.

Source: Reverse Mortgage Daily