Housing trends in the future will focus on who’s buying homes and where they are buying them. Three demographics considered for these trends include the “Browning of America” (non-white Hispanics and immigrants who are expected to account for nearly half the U.S. population by 2050), the “Graying of America” (the transformation of the Baby Boomers into retirement, who represent 78 million Americans), and Generation Y (made up of the descendants of the Baby Boomers).
Generation Y is estimated to make up 34 percent of the country’s population by 2015, maintaining many of the country’s jobs and careers. They prefer cities to suburbs and are very tech-savvy and multi-tasking. Generation Y is more adventurous than their parents’ generation and favors change and variety. That affects where current housing is sold.
The immigrants are affecting where housing gets built. They are attracted to the south because of it’s border lines and the demand for low cost jobs. Chicago has seen a boom of immigrants who are living not only with families but extended families and investing several incomes into home-ownership.
The Baby Boomers are beginning to hit retirement age but this group does not see the benefits of the previous generation’s flock to warm weather. The Boomers prefer to stay around the community of family and friends they have built over the years. They are also a bit turned off by age-restricted housing, claiming that it sets them apart from a community they are still very much involved in. The Baby Boomers are still working and don’t usually choose retirement over work and continued cash flow, leading to more freedom in the retirement age.
