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D.R. Horton claims that seniors are as interested in buying homes they have dubbed starter homes as are the younger folk. So now they'll be building more of them to accomodate.
I guess in today's market $100,000 is affordable but to a whole lot of retirees it isn't. Good thing I didn't get too excited before I read the article.
Our neighborhood is mostly 55+, but not age restricted. We have a few small homes, but most are anywhere from 2000 sq ft to 6500 sq ft. As the population of our earlier buyers ages (neighborhood is almost 30 years old, but still building) many of the 80+ crowd are moving back to where their family is or are downsizing, but the supply of downsize homes in our neighborhood is very limited. After benchmarking studies indicated that many retirees wanted more low maintenance and handi-accessible homes in their communities, our POA and area developers started a new section and are building 1200 to 1600 sq ft, one level, accessible homes within walking distance of the grocery and hardware stores. I think it's a great idea. They are definitely more than $100k though.
We moved here in our 50's and anticipate at least one more move in our lifetime to a smaller home with less maintenance when we get to our upper 60's-low 70's. It might be here, it might be somewhere else. Time will tell.
I bought a 1,200-sq-ft starter home 36 years ago and, despite being able to afford a bigger/better house over the years, I never found the need to move up to anything larger/fancier. The house cost $40,000 back then and payments were $225/month. I paid it off about 20 years ago and did a lot of remodeling 10 years ago. It's very nice being retired and not having to worry about house payments.
A "starter home" in New England is typically a one-floor, 5 room house with 3 brdms and one or more baths. The realtors advertise them as "perfect starter or downsizing home," hitting two demographic birds with one stone. And ones in decent neighborhoods that aren't "dogs" are hard to find. Most have huge lots or acreage and a ton of hedges and bushes to care for. If you go for the "city lot" size, you'll have neighbors you'll be cursing till the end of your days. Living in an age-restricted hood would probably be good but pesky kids are almost always part of the picture even there.
A "starter home" in New England is typically a one-floor, 5 room house with 3 brdms and one or more baths. The realtors advertise them as "perfect starter or downsizing home," hitting two demographic birds with one stone. And ones in decent neighborhoods that aren't "dogs" are hard to find. Most have huge lots or acreage and a ton of hedges and bushes to care for....
Precisely why I will never retire in CT where I currently reside.
We were moving across country and wanted to downsize so we went looking at new tract homes and found some that made sense for retirees and one that my wife and I agreed on: no stairs, three bedrooms but one really small and likely an office, two baths, Kitchen/greatroom, dining room, small patio.The lot was small so yard maintenance was minimal. I think it was somewhere around 1,200 sq. ft. It was well under $200,000. During the recession the builder/developer left town before we could make any purchase plans. My problem was...and is...that the homes are only about eight feet apart.
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