A potential Metro Atlanta housing crisis is looming due to the unknowns surrounding the group of homeowners known affectionately as the "Baby Boomers."
These babies, born between 1946 and 1964, are now between 50 and 67 years old. Many are at or near retirement age, and many of them no longer need the large homes in which they raised their families.
What May Cause This Metro Atlanta Housing Crisis
Many of these boomers are getting ready to downsize and simplify their lives, trading off mowing the lawn for other recreational activities.
Where the Metro Atlanta housing crisis could blossom from this is when all these people try to sell their big, expensive properties, and there are not enough buyers. The majority of the younger folks—the ones who need and want these large homes—now can't afford them. The sad fact is that U.S. incomes are declining due to a variety of factors, not the least of which is inflation and higher costs of living.
It is expected that over the next five or six years, baby boomers will increasingly put their Metro Atlanta houses on the market. This will steadily increase the unsold inventory of homes, and such a supply/demand imbalance will cause housing prices to drop and siphon equity off boomers' biggest assets.
On the other side of the coin, the number of suburban condos and urban apartments for sale or rent will decline with the increased demand from the burgeoning crowd of boomers, thereby causing prices to rise and putting added pressure on the retirees' ability to pull off the swap.
Nearly half of all boomers actually prefer to stay in their homes, but the question is, are their homes set up to function as long as they live? According to a survey done by The Hartford AARP and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab, three quarters of boomer couples have talked about age-related changes, but less than a third have made any plans. Over 95 percent know what changes to make, but just one quarter have, in fact, made any modifications.
So the question looms: Will boomers create the next Metro Atlanta housing crisis with downsizing?
What do you think? Let us know by commenting below. If you're a "boomer", we'd love to know if you've made plans, or how you are thinking about housing as your enter your retirement years.
For more on Metro Atlanta housing crisis trends and news, visit our Atlanta Real Estate section of articles under our Atlanta Real Estate Categories to the right.
