People are living longer and healthier lives, which will impact what kind of housing options they want later in life, suggests the Senior Advantage Real Estate Council in its annual senior Senior Home Seller Survey "Moving Forward: 50 & Beyond."

Using research gleaned from The National Council on Aging, Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, and The National Association of Home Builders, the survey supposes that among the principal challenges in housing seniors is creating modifications and more choice. More choices would encourage more moves, which could further stimulate the real estate industry. Seniors are already surprising analysts by moving more frequently after the age of 60.

Like younger homebuyers, seniors (age 50 and older, according to the AARP benchmark) expect their homes to perform as a key asset and resource. Many baby boomers, the first of whom turned 60 in 2005, are "counting on the sale of their home to finance their retirement."

Among the findings:

• Nearly half of all seniors use the Internet as part of the home selling process

• Most senior home sellers relocate less than 50 miles away from their primary residence

• 42 percent of seniors used the Internet to:

  1. research comparables (92%)

  2. get neighborhood sales information (91%)

  3. track the current housing market (69%)

  4. find a real estate agent (61%)

  5. use an online appraisal (24%)

  6. learn about neighborhoods to move to (20%)

• One out of two visited AARP for real estate information, while the majority visited Realtor.com, Housevalues.com, and real estate company websites

• Ninety percent of seniors used a real estate agent

• average senior seller income is $76,363

• senior sellers have lived in the home they are selling for about 9.4 years

Most seniors gave their reasons for selling their homes and moving, yet there were stark differences in the preferences of younger seniors, 50-64, or preretirement age and older seniors, 65 or over. Among the findings:

• Young seniors want to be in a better neighborhood (38%) or shorten their commutes; older seniors, 65 and over, were more concerned with the quality of community services (59%.)

• Affordability was a concern for 53 percent of older seniors and zero concern for younger seniors

• Younger seniors want a larger home (16%) while older seniors don't (2%)

Where do they move? The survey said most senior homebuyers stay within their home state (82 percent), 72 percent of seniors selling their primary residence move less than 100 miles from their previous home. Younger seniors tended to move farther away from their previous residences than did older seniors. Of those senior homebuyers who did move to a new state (18 percent), the most popular choices were: Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, and New Mexico.

Complete reports are available from the Senior Advantage Real Estate Council.