In recent columns I've discussed taste trends and financial options currently available to home buyers and sellers. Now we need to talk about the effect aging baby boomers will have on the housing market in the future.
At nearly 77 million strong, those born between 1946 and 1964 account for more than $930 billion in disposable income, with the oldest just now turning 55. At 31 percent of the population, this demographic will continue the demand for housing for the next few decades.
The easiest way to discuss those entering into the upper realms of the age spectrum is to break the 55-plus genre into three subcategories: the go-go, the slow-go and the no-go. It's interesting to note how the mainstream real estate industry ministers to this population.
Go-goes have high interest, with developments, symposiums, marketers and architects, to name a few, actively involved and promoting housing options for the first rung of the senior demographic. The public can, with relative ease, get its arms around information and learn what options are available.
That's not the case with the latter two groups, however, although it's beginning to change. The information that was available had been cursory, remote and difficult to come by in the mainstream literature. Housing activity and options regarding the slow-goes and no-goes were for the most part in the domain of geriatric academia and a relatively small but growing industry that's specifically targeting this population.
According to gerontologists, the senior market has changed dramatically over the past 15 years. Old was, well, simply old, and few housing options were available. But that's not the case anymore, and the concept of a singular mature market is long gone.
Today there are many different sub-segments offering a variety of lifestyles for this diverse group. Because of advancements in health care, people are living longer and it's possible for retirement to consume 30 years of a person's life, which has led the housing industry down the road of offering more choices.
The traditional segmented community that offered one type of housing is giving way to communities with more options, including close proximity to assisted living. A short time ago this was unheard of, since people didn't want to be reminded that they were getting old. But today the script for what's acceptable has been rewritten.
Now it's perfectly acceptable for communities to combine elements of assisted living with other types of housing that appeal to a variety of age groups in addition to being more convenient for family members caring for an aging parent.
Changes are occurring regarding older people's prediliction for warmer, sunnier climes as well as the social component that gave incentive to the go-goes to go. Although far more mobile than their parents, boomers increasingly are opting to stay right where they are during retirement; close to home and nearer to the grandchildren.
From a societal and a housing perspective, what we're beginning to see is a dramatic change in the variety of housing options and the diversity to whom they're marketed, brought on primarily by increased longevity and mobility. The generation gap between seniors and boomers is the greatest it's ever been in U.S. history, yet at the same time boomers are closer to their Generation X children than ever before.
The differences between groups are substantial. Each has its own values and experiences, which don't always agree.
These cross-generational boundaries will result, many believe, in new and different housing approaches that reflect the dynamics and diversity of our culture and population as it evolves.
STEVEN J. LOWENSTEIN, a native of Cincinnati, is a Realtor with Coletta & Associates Realtors. He's a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and holds a Master's degree from North Texas State University.
