How Empty Nesters Are Driving Housing Trends

A generation that matured in single-family homes is expected to migrate to multifamily housing in their golden years, sparking a boom in construction of condominiums, townhomes and patio homes.

Empty nesters looking to downsize are considering housing options that wed convenience with minimal maintenance, researchers say. For many, that means multifamily housing.

That’s not something that the housing industry can afford to ignore.

“The market for multi-unit buildings such as co-ops and condos will increase as boomers age, suggesting not only growth in new buildings, but a rise in the rehab, renovation and remodeling of older condos, co-ops and apartment buildings,” building industry watcher and publisher Hanley Wood says in a 2006 report titled “Every 8 Seconds: American Housing as Boomers Turn 60.”

In 2006, the 78-million-strong Baby Boomer generation began turning 60 at a rate of one every eight seconds. The study focused on boomers ages 50 to 59 with annual incomes exceeding $100,000. But the findings have implications for boomers of all income levels, because these “boomfluentials” are driving building trends.

“The market for semi-detached homes will take off,” the report said, “creating opportunities for new building and renovation and rehab projects.”

Robert Tippets, chairman of the 50+ Council for the National Association of Home Builders, says that baby-boomer empty nesters also are influencing how condominiums are being built.

For one thing, units are getting larger to accommodate empty nesters who want extra rooms for offices, computers and guest quarters, he says. In the past, it was hard to get larger units that size outside of luxury condominium projects.

Higher costs for land and construction – and the resulting decreased affordability of single-family homes -- are likely to drive growing numbers of empty nesters into condominiums and other multifamily projects, Tippets says.

Many of these projects are likely to be clustered around mass-transit systems that give older homeowners easy access to shopping and other amenities, he says.

Some new neighborhoods designed for people 50 and over consider all their units to be “condominiums,” even single-family detached homes. Outdoor maintenance, like lawn care and snow removal, is taken care of.

These new-style neighborhoods are often in suburbs. According to the Hanley Wood survey, 67 percent of the “boomfluentials” plan to maintain a suburban life.

Regions with good climates, lower cost of living and lower housing costs are considered highly desirable by those interviewed, according to the survey. Condominium construction is booming in those areas.

Wherever they live, two-thirds of the empty nesters surveyed wanted main-level living. More than half wanted a service that would take care of exterior maintenance and landscaping.

Condominium designs also are changing to allow empty nesters to “age in place.”

“Universal design” features – including wider halls, higher countertops, levers instead of knobs, rocker light switches and electrical outlets placed higher on the wall -- appealed to more than 75 percent of those surveyed -- as long as they weren’t described in terms of accessibility or ways to make the home safe for aging parents.