Back in June, I wrote a column asking, “Are you tired of homeownership?” focusing on renting versus owning. Well, it now appears that plenty of people are tired of homeownership, primarily in the golden years of life.
The country is aging and so is the baby boomer generation and now they’re asking themselves, is this house really worth it? In my generation, if you didn’t own your own home you hadn’t evolved to adulthood and made a success of your life, or as my mother would say, “Renting is like throwing your money away.”
A lot of senior citizens, most of whom have been long-term homeowners, are choosing to rent instead. Developers have certainly taken note of this and are building single-family home communities for people 55 and older all over the country. The attraction is maintenance-free living while still having your personal space and living among people with similar interests. Also, renting always has in its favor the ability to pick up and move if you don’t like your neighbors or want closer access to family members.
In addition, the sale pitch for homeownership has flipped. Younger homeowners had an interest and a need to build equity in order to move on to larger homes to accommodate a growing family. With no more kids to house and space for them to run around, why do you need the four-bedroom, three-bath home anymore? Most people also probably don’t need to build equity either at a certain point in their life.
According to 2023 Census Bureau data, the fastest-growing group of renters are those 55 and older. In addition, the share of renters 65 and older rose 30% in the past decade, according to a recent study by Point2Homes, a residence rental platform.
It appears that it’s a concept whose time has come with the aging of the Baby Boomers. Not all of them want to go into life plan communities and even fewer want to live with adult children. Keep your eye out for new communities that can also offer luxury apartments if you’re starting to think along those lines.
Time for July sales statistics published by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.
Single family homes in Manatee County closed 9% lower this July compared to last July. The median sale price was $489,900, down 1.8%, and the average sale price was $631,195, down 4.5%. The median time to closing was 102 days this year compared to 100 last year. New listings were down 2.9% and the month’s supply of available properties was 4.8 months compared to 3.9 months last year.
Condos closed 10.7% fewer properties this July compared to last year. The median sale price was $320,000, down 2.7% and the average sale price was $329,947, down 6.9%. The median time to closing was 111 days compared to 121 days last year. New listings were down 11.3% and month’s supply of available properties was 7 months compared to 5.6 last year.
Need I remind you, we’re in the middle of hurricane season with the first Atlantic named hurricane last week. Not much happens during hurricane season even in a good market, so it’s not surprising the market is quiet, to say the least. That said, there does appear to be some stability setting in with a slight uptick in all sectors in Manatee.
So, if you’re tired of fixing the air conditioning and cleaning the gutters, it may be time to unload the albatross you now call your home. Don’t worry about what my mother says, she’s not in a position to judge anymore and even she would probably admit that pulling weeds is not a good use for your free time.
