Where is all the US household growth coming from? It is the 65+

Home in retirement: more freedoms, new choices, is a report produced by Merrill Lynch and Age Wave and is an absolute MUST read if you are in anyway connected with housing or the provision of good and services to the domestic consumer.

Let me get your attention. Where is nearly all of the household growth in the US going to come from?

The next chart will surprise/amaze you.

At what age do you become released to make decide on the type and location of accommodation you want rather than being constrained by work and family issues. The next chart is a brilliant demonstration of this crossover point.

Who is spending the most on home renovations? By now you should be getting the picture that I am telling - have a look at the next chart.

And so on and so on it goes screaming at you that the old consumer is the one that is going to drive so much of household market.

Whilst this is a very well researched and presented document it misses out on an incredibly important part of the story and that is how does the physical and cognitive ageing of the consumer affect the residences and products purchased? Now that is a part of the story that Kim Walker and I can tell. Dick Stroud