Realty Times May 2, 2003

Boomers To Demand More Custom New Homes
by Broderick Perkins

If you thought you read the last "Top Towns" list, think again.

In a preliminary report on retirement home locations, the metro areas of New York, Tampa, Phoenix, West Palm Beach, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Riverside-San Bernardino, Philadelphia and Sarasota will draw the most retirees.

Likewise the states and larger areas of Arizona, Nevada, Florida, the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Texas Hill Country, Ozarks, Carolinas, and New England will get a large share of retirement home buyers.

The problem is, builders may not be ready for the boom about to be wrought by baby boomers who are tossing in the towel on the traditional 9-to-5.

John Burns of John Burns Real Estate Consulting, a new home industry consulting firm, says many new home builders have not ventured into retirement housing, but older buyers will seek out new homes in urban, suburban and rural areas because resale homes typically aren't built for their needs. Also, retirees will have the money to buy new and big and affluent retirees will want many custom options for what's likely to be their last home.

A preliminary look at Burns' three-part "Retirement Housing Forecast" reveals while retirement communities with age restrictions have received the bulk of the attention from builders building for retirees, most of the demand this decade will continue in non-age restricted communities as healthier and more independent retirees seek greater choices to fit their lifestyle.

Burns says 24 percent of those who turned 65 during the last decade also purchased a home during the decade and 72 percent of those buyers remained in their local metropolitan area.

His reports are in line with others that say most aging boomers want to stay put when they retire.

Burns report, for more than 3,000 counties, will forecast how many homes will sell to those 55 and older in the next decade. The report will also describe 11 distinct type of baby boomer buyers and suggest strategies for home builders who want to meet the needs of those destined to push the envelope on retirement.

Often in line with a related report from AARP's "15 Best Places to Reinvent Your Life," Burns found:

  • Many boomers will return to their childhood homes, especially college and military towns where housing is affordable and the climate is attractive.

  • Most will want to continue working at least part time and gravitate toward employment centers, often in or near urban centers, which will also put them in close proximity to family and friends.

  • Boomer buyers will be wealthier than any prior generations, in part because of the $500,000 capital gains tax exclusion they'll tap to buy a smaller home or condo.


  • Copyright © 2003 Realty Times. All Rights Reserved.

    With an award winning staff of writers providing up to the minute real estate news and advice, thousands of REALTORS® in North America reporting daily market conditions, and a nationally broadcast television news program, Realty Times is the one-stop shop for real estate information. That's why over 10,000 real estate professionals have turned to us for their publicity needs.