Why Canada's Baby Boomers are Keeping their Homes

Housing experts claim Canadian baby boomers, who are between the age of 50 and 70 and are likely retired, will not be selling their multi-family homes to buyers priced out of Toronto’s expensive real estate market any time soon, according to a report on The Financial Post.

Toronto’s housing market has been soaring at a tremendous pace pricing out home buyers looking for a new home. Although average home sales prices have tapered off mid-July to $865,635, that figure still represents an 8.8 percent increase year over year, the report noted.

The Financial Post said housing prices have continued to rise in the city as developers have stopped building detached homes and are building semi-detached homes instead to “maximize potential profits of their land holdings.”

Some industry insiders argue that baby boomers will probably open up an opportunity for both home builders and home buyers looking to move up to a bigger home as soon as they downsize to smaller properties.

“The argument, so it goes, is that a tsunami of boomers won’t need the larger homes they currently occupy now that their kids have moved out so they will downsize, mostly into condos in downtown cores, close to cultural amenities and health-care facilities,” the report said.

Citing survey results from condominium builder Harmony Village, the report said that six in 10 respondents aged 50 years and older see themselves selling their home to move into a smaller space within five years. At least 88 percent of the respondents are currently living in a detached home while some six percent are living in a semi-detached home.

Some experts, on the other hand, believe that the trend is impossible in the near future, especially with “uncertainty in the economy.”

“With the uncertainty in the economy, people are a little unsure of what to do and may be holding back on making decisions,” Environics Analytics senior vice president and chief demographer Doug Norris told The Financial Post.

“The other thing is that, overall, if you ask people, the majority will say they want to stay in their homes as long as they can. That could push them well into their mid-70s,” he added.

Another demographer, David Foot, who authored the book Boom, Bust & Echo, stated that baby boomers do not want to downsize their accommodations since they want to save a room for their grandchildren when they drop by. He also believed that baby boomers are not interested in the condos that are being constructed today.

“If you’re going to downsize, you don’t want an 800-square-foot condo, that’s for a 20-something,” Foot said. “You want a 2,400-square-foot condo, or three 800-square foot condos, if you’re going to downsize.”

He also said that facility upgrades in old, “picturesque lakeside communities” close to the city are enticing them to invest in homes there. Those who already live in those communities intend to stay, he added in the report.

Real estate agents marketing properties to baby boomers may be faced with the said challenges, but understanding their current needs may make a difference in successfully selling them smaller spaces or a “retirement” homes that stand next to great amenities. Using virtual technologies that showcase lifestyle and recreational facilities in the area, and home features that could satisfy their needs can help you convince them to make that big purchase.  

Realbiz Media Group, Inc. RBIZ develops proprietary video marketing software that agents and their brokers can use to promote their virtual tour listings online. The company offers a Virtual Tour Program that allows real estate sellers to create virtual tours and presentations that are optimized for mobile viewing and could be syndicated through social media for only $29.95 a month.

The program is equipped with a video search engine optimization (VSEO) tool that automatically generate meta tags and descriptions for virtual tours and listings agents have uploaded to the platform so that they would be found easily by consumers online.

The program also has tools for creating QR codes, e-flyers, and seller reports as bonus features.

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