What Baby Boomers Really Want in a Home
Posted by tblefko on September 23, 2009
The term ‘Baby Boomer‘ gets thrown around a lot in the world of advertising. It seems like everyone is trying to sell to this segment of the population; including the real estate industry. Economic statistics show that baby boomers account for 28% of the population, but over 77% of all financial assets in the United States. This generation also accounts for more than 50% of all discretionary authority in private organizations as well as in government. But do REALTORS® and builders really know what baby boomers want in a home? Do they know what features they want? What locations are preferential? How much money they’re willing to spend? A new survey conducted by the MetLife Mature Market Institute and the National Association of Home Builders entitled 55+ Housing: Builders, Buyers and Beyond was just released that sheds some light on these very questions.
Before we look at the results of the study, we should probably take a moment and define what a baby boomer is. The term ‘baby boomer’ is the name given to the generation of people who were born right after World War II. That time of history saw over 70 million people born in this country. It really was a literal ‘baby boom’ and the name stuck. All those Americans born during that time are now between the ages of 42 and 60 and as indicated at the start of this post, a financial and culturally powerhouse.
When the survey was commissioned, its objective was to find out what features, amenities, and services 55+ households would like in their homes and communities and how they value them. This report provides summary data on both the builder and consumer surveys and focuses on the gap between the built product and consumer preferences. It also provides an extensive data resource of the characteristics of consumers and what builders are offering in the marketplace. To obtain accurate results, over 250 builders and 1,500, 55+ households were surveyed.
Now – - – on to some of the findings ¹ :
- Stay or Go: About two-thirds of respondents (63%) plan to age in their current homes, while 12% plan to buy another home. About one-quarter (26%) are not sure.
Put another way, over 1/3 of all baby boomers are either thinking about moving or have already made the decision to move.
- Suburban Life Preferred:The majority of respondents prefer a home in a suburb, with 32% wanting to live in close-in suburbs and 31% in outlying suburbs. In comparison, 28% prefer a rural community, while only 9% want to live in a central city.
All the talk about baby boomers wanting an urban lifestyle where they can walk to everything doesn’t appear to jive with reality and is more wishful thinking on behalf of land planners, builders and municipal planners.
- “Same-Sizing” the New Home: The median size of the respondents’ present home is 1,886 square feet, compared to the median 1,903 square feet they want in a new home. More than half of respondents (51%) prefer three bedrooms, while 18% want four or more bedrooms. About three-quarters prefer the master bedroom on the first floor.
Hmm . . . very interesting. Downsizing into something more manageable doesn’t appear to be the overriding, driving force behind moving.
- Downsize on the Price: The median price respondents expect to pay for their next home is $189,426, which is less than the median price of $198,119 paid by those respondents who bought a home within the last three years. This compares to their current home, which has an average market value of $267,401.
I think this is more a function of where we find ourselves in today’s economic times. People are being very careful with how they spend their money.
- Top Five Inside Features: The five features rated most important were: washer and dryer in the home/unit, storage space, windows that open easily, master bedroom on the first floor in a two-story home, and easily usable climate control (thermostat).
No huge surprises here other than the fact that people think thermostats are difficult to understand. Did you ever try to program these new thermostats? The instruction booklets are fifty pages long. If you want to turn your thermostat back two degrees you have to push nine buttons and answer three questions on Jeopardy.
- Green Is Good, but Not Key:About one-quarter of 55+ respondents do not care about the impact building a home has on the environment. While another 23% said they are concerned about the environment, it does not drive their decision to purchase. Only 12% said they would pay more for an environmentally friendly home. Respondents are willing to pay an average amount of $6,732 (median $4,000) if it would save $1,000 annually in utility costs.
While everyone agrees ‘Green’ is good, I think the movement is a fixation of the media and not actually consumer driven.
- What’s Close By?: Most respondents listed proximity to a shopping center as influencing their choice of a new community (57% noted it as Somewhat to Very Important), followed by proximity to a hospital/doctor’s office (55% rated it as Somewhat to Very Important).
No surprises here.
- Online Is a Must: Technology features are important to 55+ consumers, with 83% of respondents rating high-speed Internet access as Somewhat to Very Important.
The overwhelming majority of baby boomers want to be connected – - and fast.
- Less Maintenance, More Family Are Top Motivators:Builders were asked to indicate their 55+ customers’ motivations for relocating. Sixty-three percent of builders reported a desire for a maintenance-free lifestyle from their customers, 46% a desire to move closer to children/family, and 32% a desire for lower living costs.
As much as baby boomers can’t wait to have their last son or daughter move out of the house, apparently they also can’t wait to live near them. Go figure.
——————————–
¹ “55+ Housing: Builders, Buyers and Beyond.” MetLife Mature Market Institute & National Association of Home Builders, Sept. 2009. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. <http://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/studies/mmi-55+-builderes-buyers-beyond.pdf>.
Related articles of interest:
- Will Your Retirement Be Worse Than Your Parent’s Was? (usnews.com)
- Wash., U.S. Internet speeds drag behind rest of world (seattlepi.com)
- Rural broadband = more jobs, better salaries (arstechnica.com)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=78ee0f4e-b818-4167-9b51-7c5e68e34534)
