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ON THE MONEY: Baby boomers have different desires in housing

WAVE NEWSPAPERS — Unlike just 15 years ago, many baby boomers are discovering that the large, high-end homes with their high-maintenance costs no longer fit their needs as they grow older. And younger people aren’t buying big houses, either.

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By John L. Grace

Unlike just 15 years ago, many baby boomers are discovering that the large, high-end homes with their high-maintenance costs no longer fit their needs as they grow older.

And younger people aren’t buying big houses, either. It wasn’t that long ago when boomer retirees were rushing to buy or build elaborate, five or six-bedroom houses in warm climates, fueled in part by the easy credit of the real estate boom.

Many baby boomers poured millions into these spacious homes, planning to live out their golden years in houses with all the bells and whistles.

“Tastes — and access to credit — have shifted dramatically since the early 2000s. These days, buyers of all ages eschew the large, ornate houses built in those years in favor of smaller, more-modern looking alternatives, and prefer walkable areas to living miles from retail,” according to the Wall Street Journal, March 21.

The Journal opined that the problem is expected to worsen in the 2020s, as more baby boomers across the country advance into their 70s and 80s, the age group where people typically exit homeownership due to poor health or death. Boomers currently own 32 million homes and account for two out of five or 40% of the homeowners in the country.

Buyers have been led down the path of focusing on location, interest rates and inventory. The most important factor to take into consideration, however, is buying behavior based on age.

Thanks to the U.S. Census Bureau and Dent Research we can see that Americans tend to buy their first house at 31, their largest around 41 and sell those same homes at 79.

Born between 1946 and 1964, baby boomers turn anywhere from 55 to 73 this year. From 1980 to 2000 40% of all homes purchased in the U.S. were on lot sizes of a half acre to 10 acres, according to Dent Research. That is a 20-year period, where individual thinking boomers who were doing the same thing at the same time of the age group couldn’t live without their magnificent McMansions.

It stands to reason for this observer that current prices are a direct result of 76 million Americans coming into the equation. It didn’t matter whether the population was legal or illegal, legitimate or illegitimate.

With all of that demand for housing coming out of the woodwork, home prices must go up. On the other side of the equation, it becomes reasonable that when boomers who constitute 24% of the U.S. population go to heaven the supply and demand principles come back into play.

When 130 years of residential real estate remains on this earth after 76 million people go to heaven without those McMansions, you tell me where you think prices are headed.

From 1929-32 New York real estate declined 69%, wrote Zubin Jelveh in The New Republic in September 2009. That’s the same time that the stock market was off 89%, according to Yahoo Finance.

Jelveh went on to say, “A home owner who would have invested in a house on the eve of the Great Depression would not have recovered the full value of their investment until four decades later.”

If you were an adult in the early 1900s the average age of death was mid-50s, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. So you died with great regret long before prices fully recovered.

Neither of those events could ever happen again, right? Investors understand buy low, sell high. The same stock logic applies to all highly appreciated assets.

Savvy investors don’t let emotion dictate their behavior. Or you can be in the middle the pack or at the back of a herd of cows, where the view and the smell never changes.

John L. Grace is president of Investor’s Advantage Corp, a Los Angeles-area financial planning firm that has been helping investors manage wealth and prepare for a more prosperous future since 1979. His On the Money column runs monthly in The Wave.

This article originally appeared in the Wave Newspapers

posted by Wave Staff

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Activism

OPINION: California’s Legislature Has the Wrong Prescription for the Affordability Crisis — Gov. Newsom’s Plan Hits the Mark

Last month, Gov. Newsom included measures in his budget that would encourage greater transparency, accountability, and affordability across the prescription drug supply chain. His plan would deliver real relief to struggling Californians. It would also help expose the hidden markups and practices by big drug companies that push the prices of prescription drugs higher and higher. The legislature should follow the Governor’s lead and embrace sensible, fair regulations that will not raise the cost of medications.

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Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook. Courtesy of Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook.
Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook. Courtesy of Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook.

By Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook

As a pastor and East Bay resident, I see firsthand how my community struggles with the rising cost of everyday living. A fellow pastor in Oakland recently told me he cuts his pills in half to make them last longer because of the crushing costs of drugs.

Meanwhile, community members are contending with skyrocketing grocery prices and a lack of affordable healthcare options, while businesses are being forced to close their doors.

Our community is hurting. Things have to change.

The most pressing issue that demands our leaders’ attention is rising healthcare costs, and particularly the rising cost of medications. Annual prescription drug costs in California have spiked by nearly 50% since 2018, from $9.1 billion to $13.6 billion.

Last month, Gov. Newsom included measures in his budget that would encourage greater transparency, accountability, and affordability across the prescription drug supply chain. His plan would deliver real relief to struggling Californians. It would also help expose the hidden markups and practices by big drug companies that push the prices of prescription drugs higher and higher. The legislature should follow the Governor’s lead and embrace sensible, fair regulations that will not raise the cost of medications.

Some lawmakers, however, have advanced legislation that would drive up healthcare costs and set communities like mine back further.

I’m particularly concerned with Senate Bill (SB) 41, sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), a carbon copy of a 2024 bill that I strongly opposed and Gov. Newsom rightly vetoed. This bill would impose significant healthcare costs on patients, small businesses, and working families, while allowing big drug companies to increase their profits.

SB 41 would impose a new $10.05 pharmacy fee for every prescription filled in California. This new fee, which would apply to millions of Californians, is roughly five times higher than the current average of $2.

For example, a Bay Area family with five monthly prescriptions would be forced to shoulder about $500 more in annual health costs. If a small business covers 25 employees, each with four prescription fills per month (the national average), that would add nearly $10,000 per year in health care costs.

This bill would also restrict how health plan sponsors — like employers, unions, state plans, Medicare, and Medicaid — partner with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to negotiate against big drug companies and deliver the lowest possible costs for employees and members. By mandating a flat fee for pharmacy benefit services, this misguided legislation would undercut your health plan’s ability to drive down costs while handing more profits to pharmaceutical manufacturers.

This bill would also endanger patients by eliminating safety requirements for pharmacies that dispense complex and costly specialty medications. Additionally, it would restrict home delivery for prescriptions, a convenient and affordable service that many families rely on.

Instead of repeating the same tired plan laid out in the big pharma-backed playbook, lawmakers should embrace Newsom’s transparency-first approach and prioritize our communities.

Let’s urge our state legislators to reject policies like SB 41 that would make a difficult situation even worse for communities like ours.

About the Author

Rev. Dr. VanHook is the founder and pastor of The Community Church in Oakland and the founder of The Charis House, a re-entry facility for men recovering from alcohol and drug abuse.

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Activism

Congress Says Yes to Rep. Simon’s Disability Hiring and Small Biz Support Bill

“As the first congenitally blind person to serve in Congress, I am incredibly honored to lead and excited to celebrate the House passage of the ‘ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disability Employment Act,’” said Simon.

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U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12). File photo.
U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12). File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

The House of Representatives unanimously passed the “ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disability Employment Act” on June 3, marking a major win for U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) and co-sponsor Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN-08) in their bipartisan effort to promote inclusive hiring and boost small business accessibility.

The legislation establishes a federal partnership between the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the National Council on Disability to help small businesses across the U.S. hire more individuals with disabilities and provide resources for disabled entrepreneurs.

“As the first congenitally blind person to serve in Congress, I am incredibly honored to lead and excited to celebrate the House passage of the ‘ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disability Employment Act,’” said Simon.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of cities, making them accessible for all will maximize local economic activity and broaden the job market to everyone who is seeking to contribute to their communities,” she continued. “Investments in business and talent in our communities shouldn’t be limited to just those who are not disabled. Full stop, period.”

Since taking office in January 2025, Simon has introduced six bills. The House has approved two of them: this measure and the “Assisting Small Businesses, Not Fraudsters Act.”

Simon, a lifelong disability rights advocate and former BART board member, has focused her career on improving access, from public transit to the job market.

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Activism

Over 500 Join Interfaith Rally in Solidarity with Los Angeles Resistance to Trump Invasion

Over 500 people attended the Tuesday evening rally in Oakland, which was held simultaneously with a prayer vigil in Los Angeles, where rabbis, pastors, Muslim faith leaders, and indigenous spiritual leaders gathered to pray and speak out about the federal government’s abuses of power.

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Hundreds gathered at Fruitvale Plaza in Oakland on June 10 in solidarity with immigrants and opposed to Trump’s use of armed federal agents in Los Angeles. Photo by Beth LaBerge/KQED.
Hundreds gathered at Fruitvale Plaza in Oakland on June 10 in solidarity with immigrants and opposed to Trump’s use of armed federal agents in Los Angeles. Photo by Beth LaBerge/KQED.

By Post Staff

n response to last week’s “invasion” of Los Angeles by armed and masked federal agents, East Bay faith leaders and community members, joined by Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, held an Interfaith vigil Tuesday evening at Oakland’s Fruitvale Plaza in support of Los Angeles residents and immigrant communities across the country.

Over 500 people attended the Tuesday evening rally in Oakland, which was held simultaneously with a prayer vigil in Los Angeles, where rabbis, pastors, Muslim faith leaders, and indigenous spiritual leaders gathered to pray and speak out about the federal government’s abuses of power.

Earlier on the same day, hundreds of protesters at San Francisco and Concord immigration courts shut down the courts after masked, plainclothes federal ICE agents detained people seeking asylum attending their court hearings.

“Too many families in Los Angeles torn apart by this invasion still do not have access to a lawyer — and that’s not an accident. We, the people, the community, are here to say, ‘Enough!’ We must keep organizing and demand that ICE and our government respect the rights of all people and uphold the principle of due process,” said Andrés Pomart with Trabajadores Unidos Workers United.

“We know that when we organize, we win. That’s why our communities – Black, Brown, and working-class – are coming together to support each other in solidarity. Together, as immigrant communities and as a united working class, we will not be divided nor intimidated nor live in fear,” Pomart said.

“Immigrant communities — yes, our immigrant communities — are the heartbeat of Oakland, enriching our neighborhoods with diverse cultures, languages and experience, and deserve the quality of life that every human being deserves. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.  “Your city remains committed to protecting our immigrant neighbors,” said Mayor Lee.

“When Trump’s armed goons come for our families and communities, when they trample on our shared values of freedom and opportunity, when they make a mockery of our rights to due process, we are called to step up for our neighbors,” said Supervisor Bas. “This is not just an immigration story. It’s a story about who we are — and how we respond when our neighbors are under attack and when the president of the United States abuses his powers. When they come for one of us, they come for all of us.”

Said Kampala Taiz-Rancifer, the Oakland teachers’ union president, “It is time for us to say, ‘Not in our city.’ We will stop, we will block, we will drive out ICE. We will protect our classrooms. We will protect our streets. We will protect our homes. Together, we rise for the dignity of our families and our right to live without fear.”

“I feel that the president and the current administration is grossly overstepping and abusing their power,” Rabbi Chai Levy, speaking to KQED. “I feel that, as a religious person, communities of faith need to show up and stand in solidarity with immigrants who are threatened and afraid. “It’s important to show up as people of conscience and morality and say that we’re against what our government is doing.”

The vigil was hosted by Bay Resistance, and co-sponsoring organizations included the Alameda Labor Council, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Faith in Action East Bay, Restore Oakland, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Oakland Rising, Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy, SEIU Local 1021, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), SEIU United Service Workers West, Jewish Voice for Peace Bay Area, Jobs with Justice San Francisco, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, Urban Peace Movement, and Trabajadores Unidos Workers United.

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