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New Survey Reveals What 45+ Consumers Want In Homes, Communities

Editor’s Note: BuilderBooks.com has just published a new title for builders, developers and other industry professionals, based on a survey of more than 6,000 housing consumers ages 45+ about what they want in their homes, neighborhoods and communities. Following is an excerpt from “RightHouse, Right Place, Right Time: Community and Lifestyle Preferences on the 45+Housing Market.”

The 45+ age-group is not monolithic. Rather it is a collection of market segments that vary not only by generation and income, but also by the types of homes and communities desired and the price people are willing to pay for a home. People in these markets may be single or married, first-time home buyers or second-home buyers, working or retired, gardeners or golfers.

People in the vast age-group that comprises buyers 45+ years old may be just beginning a family or finding single life again after 60 years of marriage. Some of them are just reaching their stride in their careers, while others may be starting a new career. Many are ending paid employment altogether. At the same time, moreare thinking about cutting back or changing the scope of what they do, but not quitting work entirely. Some retirees will be globetrotting; others will be immersed in civic duties; still others may be taking on new familial roles. All of these factors — stage of life, interests, and passions — will determine when, where and to what type of home and community these buyers will gravitate, or whether or not they will move at all.

Admittedly, housing choices and preferences differ among age groups, but these differences may not be a function of people’s age as much as they are a result of their particular life stage — obligation, transition or discretion.

Life Stage InfluencesBuyer Behavior

During the obligation stage of life, people have two primary drivers: work and family. These two demands govern daily schedules; and decisions about where to live revolve around being close to work, providing a high-quality living environment, having access to good schools, and, if possible, being near other family members who can share responsibilities. Therefore, obligation stagers may not even consider moving until after children have left home for college, until responsibilities to elderly parents have been fulfilled, and/or until they change jobs.

The transition stage may last from a few months to several years. Transitions include:

• Planning to leave or leaving employment
• Watching children leave home (or, perhaps, return home)
• Becoming single again because of a divorce or the death of a spouse
• Experiencing the death of parents

People in transition often are in the throes of making decisions about where they want to live and what they want to do as a result of this change in their daily lives.

Those in the discretion stage have moved beyond the obligation stage and have more freedom, flexibility and choice in how they spend their time and lives. Some discretion stagers are adamant about doing what they want to do when they want to do it. Others may have traded a life of paid employment and care for children for one full of voluntary commitments to churches, causes and grandchildren. Despite their full calendars, however, those in the discretion stage usually have greater control over what they do and when than their counterparts in the other two stages.

Many heads of households may have ended their paid employment and therefore may be living on retirement savings and Social Security. However, although their incomes may be lower, their homes may have appreciated significantly and they may have investment assets in other real estate and retirement accounts.

Income Alone Does Not Predict Movers

As a rule, however, as income increases, so does the proportion of people that will move to a new home. Around 23% of respondents with incomes of less than $30,000 are likely to move in the future, compared with 37% or more of households with $100,000 or more in annual household income.

Still, household income by itself is not necessarily a predictor of whether or not that household will move in the future, particularly when one observes the likelihood of moving for individuals within the same age groups, especially those 45-54. Within that group, those with the lowest incomes are as likely to move in the future as those with higher incomes. Also, householders ages 75+ with the highest incomes are the least likely to move of any group — by age or income.

When home values are considered, across all age-groups, those households with the lowest home values (less than $150,000) were the least likely to move. Still, a significantly greater proportion of 45- to 54-year-olds with the lowest home values are likely to move than people ages 75+ with the highest home values (more than $400,000).

The region of the country in which householders live also influences the probability that they will move and their preferences for attributes of a new residence, neighborhood and community.

Active Participants in Recreation, Culture

The proportion of households that plans to move to an active adult community or that would consider moving to an active adult community has increased significantly in the past few years. Among households ages 45+, 22% are likely to move to an active adult community and 36% might move to an active adult community. Around 42% are likely to move to an all-age community.

Many studies contrast those who prefer to move to an active adult community with households that prefer to move to an all-age community. These studies show that the householders who prefer to move to an active adult community are more active. The active adult householders are more likely to indicate that they participate in more recreational, educational, cultural and sports activities and do so more frequently than their counterparts who prefer to move to all-age communities.

Wanted: Bigger, Smaller or Just Better Homes

Despite the common perception that everyone who is 55+ wants to downsize, the survey results demonstrate that, as with other age-groups, 55+ buyers want maximum square footage for their money. The data show that even householders planning to move to an active adult community aren’t necessarily looking to downsize.

Essentially equal percentages of 55+ householders that said they planned to move to an active adult community (34%), were considering both active adult and all-age communities (36%), or planned to move to an all-age community (36%) strongly agreed that they wanted the maximum square footage their money will buy. Generally, we like room to spread out, and 72% of middle-American householders ages 45+ agreed they wanted the largest basic home they could get for their money.

At the same time, householders willing to pay more for their homes also were more willing to compromise on size. Around 46% of those planning to spend less than $150,000 for their homes wanted as much space as their money would buy. In contrast, 28% of respondents planning to spend $400,000 or more wanted as much space as their money would buy. Many boomers … who are able to invest more in their homes want better, but not necessarily bigger, homes.

Buyers will compromise on size if that means they can upgrade the quality of their homes. Roughly half (53%) of middle-American householders ages 45+ who were planning to move agreed that they would prefer a smaller home, with everything top quality, to a larger home.

Moreover, the proportion that expressed a preference for a smaller home with everything top quality increased with increasing age. Although 14% of respondents ages 45–54 strongly agreed that they would sacrifice space if they could have a top-quality home, 25% of 75+ householders said likewise.

Preference for a smaller but top-quality home did not differ by the amount respondents planned to spend. The same proportion that planned to spend $400,000 as those planning to spend less than $150,000 were willing to make the trade-off of size for quality.

A majority of 55+ householders planning to move to an active adult community and those planning to locate in an all-age community were willing to trade size for quality as well. The preference for quality over size is more pronounced in the active adult group, however; more than two-thirds of them strongly agreed or agreed that they preferred a smaller home with everything top quality.

Careful Connoisseurs of Housing Options

Home buyers ages 45+ usually aren’t in a situation in which they have to move. Rather, they are at a point in life at which they would like to move to a place where they really want to live. They take time to think about the things they do and do not want; they talk with friends; and they size up what they want and need in a house and community. Some will have a list and even put together ideas for a floor plan, but most just have a mental picture, so they will look to the builder and developer to “wow” them with a community and home.

As with other market segments, referrals among 45+ buyers matter. Many will follow friends to a community. Still, with nothing forcing them to move, they do not have to tolerate inefficiency in sales, communication or construction. Some buyers may be shopping for homes and communities as a recreational activity — researching particular areas of a state or the country, visiting communities and locations, and taking the time to discover the city, town, community, neighborhood and home that fit them perfectly.

As these customers seek out new homes and communities, they look for builder expertise on universal design features, are willing to pay for certain upgrades and understand the trade-offs inherent in obtaining both the home and lifestyle they desire. Because many 45+ households may be moving from full-time to part-time employment and have decreasing family responsibilities and smaller households, they can explore new options for living, spend money on upgrades instead of another bedroom and pay for homes and communities that better represent who they are or who they want to become.

Primary reasons 45+ buyers cite for moving are to have a new house, to live among others who are more like them or to start over. Although real estate is part of the deal, the intangible fabric of the community is what really sells the home.

Excerpted from “Right House, Right Place, Right Time: Community and Lifestyle Preferences of the 45+Housing Market”by Margaret A. Wylde. Copyright © 2008 by BuilderBooks. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Margaret A. Wylde, Ph.D., CAASH, heads ProMatura Group, LLC, an international research firm headquartered in Oxford, Miss. Wylde has conducted research about home preferences and purchase decisions for more than 20 years. Unrelenting in her effort to stamp out ageism, she teaches builders and developers how to gauge the preferences of their target market sector before they decide what to build. Wylde is a popular speaker and author who has taken her message to audiences of builders and developers across the U.S. and abroad. Wylde was named a 2007 Icon of the Industry by the NAHB 50+ Housing Council and is a speaker at the 2008 Building for Boomers & Beyond: 50+ Housing SymposiumSM in New Orleans. She can be reached by e-mail or at 662-234-0158. [ return to top ]