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The latest edition of Fannie Mae Housing Insights reports that the baby boomer generation is staying in their single-family homes, and not transitioning to apartment living as it was previously thought. The research reveals that the number of baby boomers—Americans born between 1946 and 1965—occupying single-family homes has shifted minimally in recent years, regardless of significant life events from which a change in living situation could be expected.
This report addresses a number of questions which previous research conducted through 2012 did not answer: Did continued housing market recovery through 2013 lead to a decrease in Boomer single-family housing consumption? Are Boomers sticking with single-family homes, but switching to smaller houses of this type? And finally, are downsizing Boomers helping to drive the resurgence in apartment demand?
In response to these issues, the research affirms, “This edition of Housing Insights answers these questions by showing that through 2013, when the housing recovery was two years old, Baby Boomers showed no significant reduction in the rate at which they occupied single-family detached homes. Furthermore, although the average number of rooms in single-family homes occupied by Baby Boomers decreased between 2008 and 2011, Boomer home size has increased since then, suggesting that Boomers are not trading down to smaller single-family houses, either.
“As suggested by the lack of downsizing activity, Boomers have not been a major driver of apartment demand growth. In fact, the number of Boomer apartment dwellers has not budged in recent years, whereas the number of Millennials in multifamily rental units has grown by nearly half a million annually. ”
The report substantiates that any major shift in baby boomers’ housing accommodations would have vast consequences on the housing industry, as they account for two out of every five housing units and half of the country’s housing wealth. It is therefore important to remain attune to the generation’s living situations, because as they grow in age change will become more of a need and less of a choice.
To view Fannie Mae’s report in full, please click here.