Home Builders Focus on Baby Boomers

In Baja, home builders focus on the baby boomer generation. It’s becoming increasingly evident that this is also the case in the Florida housing market and around the nation.

About six percent of new housing units in 2003 were built specifically for older adults - and baby boomers are likely to fuel the demand for age-specific housing for years to come, according to industry experts.

David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders trade group, said about 3.2 percent of all housing starts in 2003 were built in 55-and-over age-restricted communities, while about 2.7 percent of all U.S. housing starts that year were designed and marketed to buyers in that same age group.

About 42,326 of the age-restricted units, or 75 percent, were single-family units, while the remainder were multifamily units, Seiders also reported.

Norman Cohen, chairman for the National Association of Home Builder’s “50+ Housing Council,” a group focusing on the housing needs of older adults, also commented on the situation. Cohen, who is a builder for Marietta, Ga.-based Camelot/Signature Development LLC, said the 50-plus population controls about 75 percent of the nation’s wealth and represents about half of the country’s discriminatory income.

“They’re used to living in houses. They’re used to getting what they want, when they want. They are not looking for cookie-cutter (homes). They are looking for upgrades and a lot of options.” Gated communities and recreation facilities are priorities for this group.

Building new homes for the older generation

While some older adults will choose to remain in their current homes, Cohen’s company focuses on those who are looking for a change of venue. Some of these buyers “are not looking for a place to live - they’re looking for a change in lifestyle,” he said..

Cohen’s company focuses on building small communities of 30 to 125 units, with about five to six units per acre. Other builders focus on large, master-planned communities with lots of amenities for older adults, and a growing group of home builders is designing homes with the boomer crowd in mind, Cohen said.

Communities who want to keep their aging residents from moving away are using some unconventional tactics. Cohen noted that several communities in the Atlanta region exempt older adults from paying school taxes as a way to keep them close to home. Also, there are communities that provide special zoning designations for older-adult residential developments.

Who comprises the baby boomer home loan craze?

Seiders said that baby boomers are generally defined as the generation of U.S. residents born from 1946-64. Members of this group range in age from 42-60, and there are an estimated 78 million Americans in this group. This segment has a homeownership rate of about 81 percent, compared to the national rate of 69 percent at the end of 2005.

As demand among older adults for new housing units ramps up, Cohen said builders are focusing on building units with amenities that will allow them to “age in place,” such as entrances that do not have stairs, door handles designed for easy of use, wide hallways, and wall-spacing in bathrooms that will allow for the addition of handrails, for example.

Seiders said that a housing survey planned this year by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development should provide more information about older adult preferences in housing.

So, does all of this affect the Florida home loan market? You bet it does. No state is home to as many retirees as Florida, as demand for affordable, comfortable living grows for those looking to relocate as they get older.