Downsizing one’s home is becoming a very popular trend with the Baby Boomer generation. Multiple bedrooms, bathrooms and larger living spaces just aren’t as necessary as they once were when the house was full of kids. Of course, there are the grandkids but that’s planned as a short stay during vacations or overnight visits. Energy costs and general maintenance and cleaning are much easier with a smaller home, so downsizing makes sense.
But there is an interesting phenomena taking place with the downsizing of this generation. Whether it’s buying an existing smaller home and remodeling it to fit their lifestyle or building a new home, this generation is not doing things halfway. There might only be two baths and one kitchen but they are magnificent rooms with all the accommodations one could imagine. Counter tops are marble, granite or other high dollar products while appliances are top of the line, energy efficient, designer units that will do practically everything. Flooring, plumbing, electrical fixtures, paint, roofing and other owner selected products are being researched on the internet and chosen based on their reputation, good looks, desire and the effect they have on the environment much more than by what they cost.
The overall result is that the downsizing taking place might be smaller in size but is turning out to be as much, or more, of an overall investment. Baby boomers still feel that the best investment they can make is in their home. They plan to truly live there and they want to be comfortable with low monthly expenditures on utilities and maintenance. They are thinking about their own comfort and feel that they have worked long and hard to get to a place where they can spend some of those earnings on themselves and what makes them happy. Retirement is right around the corner for this generation and they have been saving and doing without for the benefit of the family and with the hope of living out their “best years” in style and comfort.
Even with most 401K and IRA accounts in the dumps because of the economic recession, their hopes & dreams remain alive. This generation has lived through tough times in the past and has seen the market come back even greater than before. They believe in the system and are banking their future on not only their own ability to pull through but on the younger generations that follow.
