Report Finds Housing Supply Will Remain Tight as Older Americans Continue to ‘Age in Place’
As older Americans continue to remain living in their homes for longer, and the homeownership rate for Americans over 50 continues to increase, there will be excess demand for older Americans’ homes over the next decade as shifting demographics impact housing for homebuyers of all ages. This is according to an updated research report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America (examining shifting demographics for older Americans over 50 and the impact on housing supply.
Who Will Buy the Baby Boomers’ Homes When They Leave Them? An Update, RIHA’s study, provides updates to the 2022 study that focuses on overall housing supply in the United States and homeownership trends for Americans over 50. The paper provides further analysis on the increasing homeownership rate for Americans over 50, how the COVID-19 pandemic affected housing decisions, and how supply is being impacted by increased life expectancy.
Key findings of the report include:
- Supply is a function of population mortality, the homeownership rate, cohort size, and the manner that older homeowners dispose of their housing assets as the age and die.
- Since 2015, there has been a sizable increase in the homeownership rate among those 70 and older. This, combined with a larger base of older Americans from the aging of the Baby Boomers, has led to a greater number of existing homes held onto for a longer period of time.
- In contrast, pre-2015 homeownership patterns would have predicted more of these homes would have been sold.
- Older Americans are holding onto their homes longer, and there are more of them.