This article caught my eye; it was posted on Yahoo but I see it's a CNN article... that figures. The title pretty much says it all; we selfish Boomers won't move out of our houses so the younger generations can have them. We are obviously terrible human beings, but since many of the younger generations are still living in our basements why should we move? Will the next Federal laws be aimed at putting us all in barracks or what? https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/baby-boomers-own-twice-many-130025201.html "Buying a family-sized home with three or more bedrooms used to be manageable for young people with children. But with home prices climbing faster than wages, mortgage rates still close to 23-year highs and a shortage of homes nationwide, many Millennials with kids can’t afford it. And Gen Z adults with kids? Even harder. Meanwhile, Baby Boomers are staying in their larger homes for longer, preferring to age in place and stay active in a neighborhood that’s familiar to them. And even if they sold, where would they go? There is a shortage of smaller homes in those neighborhoods. As a result, empty-nest Baby Boomers own 28% of large homes — and Milliennials with kids own just 14%, according to a Redfin analysis released Tuesday. Gen Z families own just 0.3% of homes with three bedrooms or more. “Boomers love their homes. Even if they did want to sell, it is now prohibitively expensive for many Millennials,” said Sheharyar Bokhari, senior economist at Redfin, who did the analysis, to CNN. “These are larger homes where there are only one or two people living there and, typically, they bought it a while ago, so it has value.”
Beth, you're absolutely right.........Boo Hoo!! We live in an apartment, but totally understand your "Boo Hoo".
The real issue is illegals. The nation's birthrate has been below the replacement level for decades. Our population is shrinking. Absent immigration and foreign investors, there should be a surplus of housing.
Honestly, I wouldn't mind down-sizing to a smaller, single-story home. But at today's prices we are just not motivated to move. We have no mortgage and we like our location and neighbors; it's comfortable here and we know where all the bodies are buried. Guess we'll sit tight. Most Boomers who live in larger homes worked and saved to "move up"... for the most part we didn't start out with the HGTV mansion with the professional kitchen and a 4-car garage. (Actually, we still don't have that but whatever. ) Young people today seem to overlook the starter home concept. And I don't get the whole "shortage of houses" thing. If a person has the money (or the down payment/ credit rating), it's entirely possible to buy a lot and have a home built. Or is that not allowed anymore now that China owns most of the USA?
There are so many articles and opinion pieces these days as to why everyone's life is difficult because of Boomers. I can hear them warming up the boxcars as we speak.
I don't know about other places but our youngest son just built (had built by a contractor) a nice small efficient starter home. Husband, wife, two kids, three bedrooms...and a huge garage.
I've commented before that my longtime (30+ years) home was just over 600 ft². The master bedroom was a bump-out addition on the back of the house. Contrary to code, you had to walk through one child's bedroom to get to the bump-out bedroom. The bedrooms were only 8'x8', and if you wanted heat from the central floor furnace you had to keep your bedroom door open. The closet for one of the bedrooms intruded into the tiny bathroom such that the toilet was literally squeezed between the closet and the tub, with the sink on the opposite wall so close to the toilet you could rest a magazine on it and read. I lived alone there, but the previous owners were a family of 4 or 5 (husband, wife and 2-3 children.) I've been on Zillow and seen the Indiana house I grew up in with a family of 8, and was surprised to see it is only 1,100 ft². The change in mindset is concerning. Regarding the "housing shortage," I believe that Charlottesville's "solution" to the "problem" is to turn the city into a crowded slum by permitting 6 "dwelling units" on a lot that's at least 40' wide. I'm fuming right now as I read the "it makes us more diverse" articles that are derisive of normal people who are screaming that their communities are being destroyed. But that's the intent, isn't it? And there's no factual support for it, other than not being against "progress."
Hmmm .... I think a lot of seniors are selling their big homes. I did and there are companies that specialize in helping people downsize. I sold our big house where we raised a family and bought a smaller one in a size good for seniors or as a starter home for young families. Another reason that seniors sell their homes is to pay for the nursing home. I've thought about how to do that too in case I have to. Best to be prepared.
You are absolutely correct. Of course, the referenced article was from CNN, the Carnival News Network and home of the "we make news up to fit our agenda" slogan.
Those who have to go on Medicaid to pay for a nursing home do have to sell their house, but if they think ahead, they can sell it to one of their children (if they have any ) 5 years (I think) prior to needing care. Sell it for less than value on condition you c an live there free until you go into a "home", then the house stays in the family.
Yes, my neighbor was really upset when she did research on it. Luckily she found out in time and deeded the house to her daughter who has lived there since.
The same thing is happing in Australia the government was offering to only deem us as a low rate of interest on money if the older folk sold their family size home . If you are receiving Centerlink as in our case (aged pension ) you are only permitted to have a fully owned home and I think it’s $250.000 in the bank before you loose some of your fortnightly pension , then you loose 50 cents in every $$ if you have any income from working or interest from savings it’s called Deeming rate ….a scale on what They Deem an x amount of $$$ from invested $$ , …….not necessarily what YOU may be be getting in income from the investment . So being the government they always win ….if us oldies bow to pressure . Our home was fully paid for the day we moved in here, its a family size home 4 bedrooms 2 bath rooms but we are not selling ,we like the position by a reserve and walking distance to the beach .
Are you saying that you can be penalized on your pension which you worked for? What?! If that is so, then your pension sounds like our social security where money is deducted if you work over so many hours, or receive any additional income from any source that is taxable and is reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).