Housing and Baby Boomers - not heading south - heading nowhere

There has been a lot of publicity about a report launched by the Demand Institute that claims to understand the intentions of older Americans regarding how and where they live.

The bottom line seems to be that they don't intend moving very far. You can read a summary of the findings in this article from the Nielsen blog.

I have to say that I am far from convinced about the conclusions. Sure if you ask a healthy 65 year old if he/she intends moving as they age they are likely to say no. Have another chat with them after they have fallen, broken a hip and are exhausted dragging themselves around an age-unfriendly house.

The same thing if you ask most 65 year olds about their retirement finances. Few will have the faintest idea about how they will fund their life without a regular income.

I am sure that today's 65 year olds will spend their latter years in a very different way from their parents, but asking them to explain how this will be is unlikely to provide you much in the way of insights.

Intentions are fine but they have to be tempered with reality. Dick Stroud