[getsmart-l] Aging Boomers & housing wants

[Gloria Boxen]

It looks like the Boomers are going to continue to
contribute to sprawl.  For the complete Star article
from Sat March 31, 2007, Aging boomers move on: This
demographic 'not necessarily behaivng like their
parents,' says real estate researcher,  go to 

http://www.thestar.com/article/197176


Aging boomers move on boomers move on
This demographic `not necessarily behaving like their
parents,' says real estate researcher

March 31, 2007
Tracy Hanes
Toronto Star

When Mike and Judy Dwyer started contemplating the
type of house they wanted after Mike retired from his
job ... they envisioned a smaller, lower-maintenance
home than their current 2,500-square-foot, two-storey
house that sits on a 50-by-170-foot lot.

The Dwyers' search took five years, ...They recently
found what they were looking for: a luxury townhouse
in New Yorkton, a small infill development of 80 homes
...It met all their expectations and was in
Unionville, where they've lived for more than 30
years.

The Dwyers are among the nearly 10 million baby
boomers in Canada – the population bulge born between
1946 and 1965 – who have been driving the housing
market for more than 20 years and are redefining it
again as they reach their "empty nester" and
retirement years.

While the younger baby boomers still have teens at
home and are buying big suburban houses, their older
counterparts aren't necessarily downsizing once the
kids have gone – or if they are, they aren't
compromising on quality. They are also highly
educated, sophisticated and discriminating and will
move only if – and when – they find exactly what
they're looking for.

The Dwyers' initial plan to "downsize inside and
outside" fell by the wayside. While the townhouse,
...will give them the freedom to pick up and travel
without worrying about extensive maintenance, it's
only about 100 square feet smaller than the house they
are leaving.

...Must-haves for the Dwyers included a double-car
garage, a spacious kitchen, open to the family room,
with a big island where people can gather, walk-in
closets and plenty of storage. ...

Margaret Wylde, is a gerontologist whose company,
ProMatura Group in Oxford, Miss., does research on
what mature consumers want and applies this
information to real estate, the service sector, retail
and consumer products. She is author of Boomers on the
Horizon and Building for a Lifetime: The Design and
Construction of Fully Accessible Homes. ...

The boomers move for the following reasons: They want
less maintenance, they've retired or they want a
larger home or larger lot, according to Wylde. Her
research finds that about half of all buyers over age
45 want a single-storey, detached home, with bungalows
slightly more popular than two storeys.

The "sweet spot" when it came to size, was 1,500 to
2,000, "even up to 2,500 square feet," says Wylde.
"They are also quite adamant about wanting a two-car
garage. They don't want smaller; they want high
quality."

Still, Wylde cautions that "no one size fits all" and
the boomer market is diverse.

...The attributes of their ideal home are: single
family detached, single storey or two-storey with main
floor master bedroom, energy efficiency, plenty of
storage space, large kitchen with good lighting and an
open floor plan.

In Canada, boomers represent 33 per cent of the
population, or about 9.8 million people and control 45
per cent of the country's wealth. They own $230
billion worth of residences and have a net worth of
$530 billion.

"They are not necessarily behaving like their parents'
demographic did," says Peter Norman, a real estate
economist and forecaster with Clayton Research of
Toronto. "They are much wealthier and much choosier.
They've been responsible for the emergence of trends
such as aging in place (features that allow them to
stay in their home as they get older) and second home
ownership, which is strong in the U.S. and we will see
more of in Canada."

... And if they move, the houses they move to are
generally not smaller, or if they are, they are higher
in value than the ones they lived in before.

"Those who stay put, put a lot of extra investment in
the home to adapt their environment to accommodate
them as they get older. Some are doing massive
renovations, like putting in main floor master suites,
and keeping the second floor for the kids and
grandkids," says Norman. ...

One of the biggest impacts baby boom buyers have had
in recent years in the GTA new house market is
renewing the demand for 50-foot lots, says Bryan
Levman, president of Guidelines Advertising, a firm
which does marketing and research for many of the
GTA's largest builders.

"The last few years, anyone offering product on 50- or
60-foot lots has found a strong market," says Levman.
"During the recession, no one produced 50-foot lots
because developers were not willing to take a chance
on large lots. The recession ended only about 10 years
ago and planning always lags behind the market by
maybe five years, so the supply hasn't kept up to
demand."

He says boomers don't want wide shallow lots with
their small backyards; they want traditional lots and
since the 50-foot lot returned to the market five
years ago, it's been outselling 40-foot lots. The
young boomers (43 to 50) have also been a big factor
in driving sales of $400,000 to $600,000 and up homes,
he says.

"These baby boomers are moving up from 30-, 35- and
40-foot lots," says Levman. "The 50-foot lot has
always had a magic about it. It's what their parents
had, what they grew up with and it's a mark of
luxury."

However, Levman says Smart Growth and the Greenbelt
legislation will make 50-foot lots a rare commodity in
the GTA as the province pushes towards
intensification, which is contrary to what most baby
boomers seem to want. And though most are attracted to
bungalows, it's difficult to build those style of
houses on small lots, says Levman.

He says buyers of almost any age prefer single
detached homes; but they choose other alternatives,
such as townhouses or luxury condos because they don't
want to move out of their neighbourhood and that is
what is available.

Tom McCormack of the Centre for Spatial Economics
based in Milton, says baby boomers are generating the
underlying housing demand in Ontario and have been for
about 20 years. He says "their habits are the same as
when they were 35 – they still want single detached
homes."

McCormack says the recent census also reveals that 55
to 60-year-olds tend not to move, and once they are
past 65, if they move, usually due to health issues,
they want to stay in the same municipality they've
been living in.

McCormack says the growth in demand for single
detached homes in Ontario will increase by 47,393
units from 2,702,967 in 2006 to 2,750,360 in 2007.
Meanwhile, the demand for townhouses is expected to
grow by 4,452 units – up to 336,189 units this year
from 331,737 in 2006.

The majority of that increased demand for detached
homes will be created by boomers: 45 to 54-year-olds
are expected to own 652,179 single detached homes in
2007, up 18,268 from 633,911 last year. The 55- to
64-year-olds are forecast to own 18,037 more single
detached homes this year than they did last – up to
497,986 from 479,949.

Scarborough public school teacher Susan Montreuil is
awaiting completion of a new bungalow on a 50-foot lot
in Uxbridge. ...She'll leave the 2,600-foot,
two-storey home she bought with her husband in 1988
and move to the 2,400-square-foot loft bungalow ...
which sits on a lot with views of woods and fields.

"I'm not a condo person. I wanted a bungalow. I have
three dogs and I'm a gardener," explains Montreuil,
who has been widowed since 1991. "I wanted a quiet
location, but the convenience to amenities. Being 55,
I wanted to be close to medical facilities and there's
a hospital down the road and I'm accessible to
highways and major centres."

...

Montreuil also had 32-inch door openings put in the
entry, bedroom and a bathroom to accommodate a close
friend in a wheelchair who will visit frequently. She
says the new house will cost slightly more than the
house she'll sell in Markham, even though it's larger
and has been renovated, "but this will likely be my
last house and it's a treat to myself."

....