Recently, an 80-year-old man sold his condominium in Newport Beach, California, and bought a huge Cape Cod-style home nearby. His daughter was more than a little perplexed. She figured these were the twilight years for Dad and he should stay put in his manageable pint-size condo.
Further downsizing might have been understandable, but upsizing? Crazy.
When she asked her father what the heck he was thinking, he replied that he needed a big backyard for his new puppy. So much for acting your age.
Obviously, not all seniors lower their housing expectations as they get older. Of course, many seniors opt for smaller places — condominiums, apartments or patio-style homes — which require little maintenance. But a growing, active group of seniors prefers big houses not small.
“We wanted something bigger and better,” said Joan Forrest, who, along with her husband Bernard, bought a big house in north suburban Deerfield.
No accurate statistics exist on how many seniors actually upsize rather than downsize. But local builders and developers guess that about 20 to 30 percent of seniors who buy newly constructed houses actually opt for homes bigger than their previous ones.
Upsizing seniors seem motivated by a sense that it’s finally their turn. They feel they deserve some fun. And a nice big house is a good place to indulge themselves.
Forrest said she and her husband didn’t work hard for 35 years to find themselves squeezed into a two-bedroom condominium.
“We wanted to reward ourselves,” said Forrest, who sells real estate at the Deerfield office of Koenig & Strey GMAC Real Estate.
The Forrests paid $515,000 for a 3,200-square-foot ranch house on a half-acre in Deerfield. The couple spent another $100,000 to construct a big master suite and add some skylights.
“We like big rooms,” said Forrest, who has three children and eight grandchildren in the area who like to come visit.
She is fairly typical of people in her generation who buy big houses. Those between age 55 and 75 are part of the so-called “silent” generation, according to Ann Fishman, who counsels big companies on generational attitudes.
The so-called “silents” — sandwiched between the Baby Boomers and the World War II generation — have worked hard and done everything they were supposed to do.
“This age group feels they are due. They feel they have earned a little luxury at this time in their lives,” said Fishman, president of New Orleans-based Generational Targeted Marketing Corp. Also, the “silents” have a lot of money and they’re willing to spend it.
“They tend to spend more money on housing than other groups,” she said, citing a recent survey from the government Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The desire for a big house also stems from a tendency of the “silents” to be helpers, Fishman said. They grew up trying to help their depression-era parents and later tried to help their children.
“Grandparenting is important to them,” she said. Many seniors in this age group want big houses to make their grandchildren comfortable and happy.
Dorothy Jaroski lived in a condominium in north suburban Northbrook for 18 years. But she got tired of condo life — transporting groceries up the elevator, the long hallways reminiscent of a hotel. Jaroski also wanted more room to entertain her children and eight grandchildren.
“I wanted something new and big,” she said.
Jaroski bought a large single-family home at Inverness at Gregg’s Landing, a new housing development in north suburban Vernon Hills. She likes being able to bring in her groceries from the attached garage. She has a first floor master suite. But the upstairs has two bedrooms, a sitting room and its own bathroom — a perfect little suite of rooms where her kids stay.
“A lot of these people want a place where their kids can visit comfortably,” said Scott Sevon, president of Sevvonco Inc., a Palatine-based home builder.
Many seniors figure a lack of space shouldn’t stand in the way of a visit by a treasured grandchild.
Sevon thinks older couples like new construction because, in general, they’re not as tolerant of disruptive remodeling projects as younger people. Also, older people are more willing to move to new areas because they aren’t tied to school districts.
“They have more freedom,” said Sevon.
Amenities are important to older buyers of big houses, too. Media rooms, under-cabinet lighting and gourmet kitchens are tops on their wish lists.
“They want nice rooms and nice features,” said Sevon. “These people have worked hard and have come to a point in their lives where they want a nice eating area in the kitchen where they can relax and read their newspaper.”
Changes in capital gains tax laws have helped fuel the big house trend, real estate experts say.
Previously, homeowners age 55 or more could exclude from taxation a one-time gain of only $125,000. Now married couples can exclude a gain of as much as $500,000. Also, the exclusion is no longer a one-time event.
Seniors don’t seem to think it’s reckless to buy a big house at their age. Instead, they say it’s exciting to move to a new house, or a bigger house. And they don’t seem too worried about how they might take care of a big house if they become ill or less mobile. They figure they’ll deal with that when the time comes.
“People are not concerned about their age,” home builder Sevon said. “If they were, they would be building a small house, not a big one.”
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Jane Adler is a Chicago-area freelance writer. If you have questions or information to share regarding housing for senior citizens, write to Senior Housing c/o Chicago Tribune Real Estate Section, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill., 60611. Or e-mail adler@megsinet.net
