Thursday, February 06, 2020

Most Older Homeowners Stay Put

Do older Americans stay in one home long enough to turn their home equity into an income stream, boosting their standard of living in retirement? That's the question posed by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. To determine the answer, CRR researchers estimated the housing trajectories of homeowners aged 50 or older to see whether they had enough residential stability to tap home equity. The answer is yes, according to CRR's analysis of data from the Health and Retirement study. Most older Americans stay put...

Housing trajectory of older homeowners from ages 50-54 to death
53% stay in their home until death
17% move at the time of retirement, then remain in their new home until death
16% stay in their home until a health shock forces them into a rental or long-term care facility
14% are frequent movers

"These findings largely support the narrative from previous research: most people want to age in place and usually move only in response to a shock," say the researchers. Consequently, most homeowners "experience enough residential stability to make tapping home equity through reverse mortgages or property tax deferrals a financially viable strategy."

Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Are Homeownership Patterns Stable Enough to Tap Home Equity?

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