As baby boomers age, more and more of them are choosing to rent instead of own their homes. It's led to a rise in the average age of renters and in renters overall.
From 2007 to 2017, there was a 43 percent increase in renters over the age of 60, according to a new report from Rent Cafe, a nationwide apartment listing service. As a result, the median age of renters ticked up from 36.7 years old to 38.1. Meanwhile, renting is near a 50-year high, with 36.6 percent of Americans doing it, according to the Pew Research Center.
The causes behind the rise in older renters are both demographic and economic, explains Mark Trekson, research associate for the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute.
Many senior renters, he says, are baby boomers who never purchased a home. Others are people who lost their homes in the Great Recession and have not bought again. The economic downturn also impacted seniors' retirement decisions. “There was a downward shift in mobility after the Great Recession,” Trekson says. As older workers aged out of the workforce, they were more likely to stay in their rental homes because the economic downturn ate away at their savings and nest eggs.
More
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
I decided to downsize to eliminate my mortgage. Less vacuuming and no monthly mortgage, win/win.
ReplyDeleteYoung little fools. A product of the communist teachers union.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it'd be cheaper to live in a hotel? Pool, fitness room, daily maid service, parking, cable and free breakfast & snacks!!
ReplyDeleteActually, it makes a lot of sense. Think about how much you spend on home upkeep and repairs every month/year. And then, you get a new job or want to move and your house sits on the market for a year because your local county forces you to upgrade your septic system.
ReplyDeleteWhen you rent, none of those things cross your mind.
So, 5:23, some of those 'young fools' may be smart in at least one department.
Makes sense to me. Sell the mortgage free house and use the proceeds to pay rent for the rest of your life (in a nice weather, low maintenance location), which isn't that long to begin with. Most will have money left over when they die. And they can spend some of the proceeds on a better lifestyle while they are still living rather than just leaving all the equity in their home to heirs. Not only that, by selling their paid off home, they also eliminate the taxes and insurance that always have to be paid as long as they own it. Look out kids! I don't think you're going to inherit all that you think you are. I worked all my life to pay everything off and retire, not to leave it all to you.
ReplyDelete