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Calgary baby boomers want to stay in their homes longer: report

An aerial view of homes in Calgary.
An aerial view of homes in Calgary. Jonathan Hayward/CP

A new report released by Mustel Group and Sotheby’s International Realty Canada reveals the housing market may be crowded for the foreseeable future.

The study shows that’s because a large number of baby boomers are wanting to stay in their homes for as long as possible.

“This is the first study — that we’re really aware of — which looked at the preferences of baby-boomers and older adults. One of the things we found is that this age group is going to continue to have a major influence on home-buying decisions in the foreseeable future,” Don Kottick, CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, said during a radio interview Thursday, with Kevin Usselman on News Talk 770.

“We found that 86 per cent of the baby boomers and older adults in Canada basically want to continue to live in their homes as long as possible.”

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In Calgary, the report found that 53 per cent of baby boomers wanted to stay in their current home for as long as possible, and 54 per cent agreed they wanted to stay in the same neighbourhood.

Kottick said these numbers mean the housing market may continue to be crowded in the years to come.

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“We have all these people that are going to stay in their homes as long as possible. That means, right now, all across the country we have inventory and supply issues,” Kottick said.

“The fact that baby boomers and older adults are going to stay in their homes means that their homes won’t be freed up.”

LISTEN: Baby boomers want to stay in their homes, Don Kottick joins Kevin Usselman on Calgary Today

For those older Calgarians who are planning on moving out of their homes, the report shows 82 per cent plan to purchase a replacement residence.

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Kottick said that number is slightly higher than the average number of baby boomers looking to re-purchase country-wide.

“What we found was that 76 per cent of the people that expect to move are the people planning on buying a replacement home,” he said.

“That means the impact is going to be felt for quite some time.”

The report also shows the leading “future home feature” most Canadian baby boomers sought after to support aging-related needs is single-level homes.

In Calgary, Kottick said that want varied slightly.

“In the Calgary area for instance, in terms of the neighbourhood — safety was actually ranked pretty high,” he said.

“Next was car friendliness, and then we had 45 per cent of people wanting to be close to grocery stores.”

In 2011, the baby boomer generation began turning 65, and the report states that by 2024, one in five Canadians will be aged 65 and older.

Kottick said with a growing senior population, this report can serve an important market indicator for age-friendly neighbourhoods across the country.

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The 2020 Generational Real Estate Trends Report: Aging in Place, is the first in a multi-series focused on baby boomers and adults over the age of 54.

The report is based on findings from a survey of 1,764 homeowners ages 54 years or older in Metro Vancouver, Greater Calgary, Greater Toronto, and Greater Montreal.

The data was gathered in Aug. 2019.

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