Baby boomers may be planning to move, but not into condos

Baby boomers may well be on the move over the next five years, but don’t expect them to be downsizing to condos, according to a new report by realtor Royal LePage.

“They love their garages and their yards,” says Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper.

In fact, they love them so much that 40.6 per cent of 1,011 boomers surveyed for the study said they plan to move out of the family home to another house — some 25.9 per cent into one of a similar size and almost 18 per cent of them into something even bigger.

While 54 per cent of boomers surveyed said they do intend to downsize, less than a quarter (22.9 per cent) are looking to condominiums or apartments, the report notes.

That could mean lights out in more than a few of those glass-and-steel units over the next decade, given that Generation Y kids born between 1980 and 1994 were also part of the survey and made it clear they don’t plan to be living the high life in the bustling downtown forever.

Expect a rush to the suburbs over the next few years as they hit their child-bearing years: Almost 77 per cent of the Gen Ys surveyed said they will be looking for townhouses, bungalows or single family homes and less than 25 per cent of them close to downtown.

“Like their parents, they dream of owning a lovely house in the suburbs, which provides value as well as access to parkland for children to play and the perception of greater family safety,” said Soper.

Less than 20 per cent of the boomers surveyed by LegerWeb last September on behalf of Royal LePage said they are looking to buy multi-storey homes. Instead, almost half — about 40 per cent — are looking to buy a bungalow, a housing type that’s quickly headed for extinction because of escalating land values and intensification efforts that, across the GTA, are driving houses up rather than out.

Relatively few boomers, it turns out, are being wooed by the call of the wild and the romance of living on a lake: Just 5.9 per cent say they plan to buy a cottage, ski chalet or other recreational property as their primary residence, the survey shows.

Realtor Cindy Daly, a baby boomer herself, says most boomers she knows simply can’t fathom downsizing yet — they need the space in their often mortgage-free homes for grown children trying to get on their feet, or aging parents too frail to live on their own.

“I'm finding that more people are staying put,” said Daly.
The Toronto Star:

Susan Pigg / Business Reporter