Older Americans seeking younger roommates to cope with high housing costs isn’t a new concept, but there’s evidence the trend is growing in popularity. That’s according to a recent podcast hosted by Boston NPR Subsidiary Body WBUR.
Jennifer Molinsky, director of the Housing Aging Society Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University, describes how the idea of baby boomers looking for roommates is winning over older adults facing housing issues. Life.
“Less than a million of the elderly live with unrelated other people, without any other family,” Molinsky said. “That’s less than 2 percent of the elderly population. About half of them are people living with other older people, about 38 percent are older people living with younger people, and the rest are in more complex relationships. .
But she explained that data shows an increase in these living arrangements.
“The numbers have increased,” Molinsky said. “This number has doubled since 2006 and the percentiles have gradually increased as the elderly population has grown. […] I think there are many reasons. Housing costs rising for all ages [and] Frankly, the income range is moving up to middle-income people, and it’s harder for them to afford housing. The elderly population is growing. We are at the forefront of the baby boom generation, approaching our 80th birthday.
On top of that, the U.S. population is aging faster. Molinsky said the number of people aged 80 and older is expected to double in the next 20 years, and with that growth comes recognition of some of the realities facing older adults.
“We recognize the dangers of social isolation and we recognize that older people – especially when they’re in their seventies, eighties or even older – need more help at home. So I think all of those reasons The combination makes this model particularly attractive.
Molinsky said that of the 56 million senior Americans, about 15 million live alone. Many of these people are also mismatched with their homes, meaning the homes are much larger than they need, or they fail to maintain them properly.
“More than 11 million of those households have homes with two or more bedrooms,” she said. “So there’s a lot of potential. Of course, we don’t know what those bedrooms, guest rooms, etc. are used for. But I think that just shows that there’s a lot of potential. Most seniors do live in single-family homes. Most single-family homes have Not just one bedroom.
The reverse mortgage industry has also played a role in this trend. 2018, American Financial (FOA) Partnership with shared housing platform for seniors silver nestwhich coincides with a rebranding program aimed at addressing seniors’ housing and co-living needs.
“This is the market opportunity: helping older homeowners harness the ‘superpower’ of their homes to achieve their financial goals, whether through an AAG or leveraging home equity. [FOA]FOA CEO Graham Fleming said on the company’s 2023 earnings call:
