Student Corner: Trends in Housing for an Aging Population

The Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University recently published the “Housing America’s Older Adults” report, an overview of the changing dynamics and needs of the nation’s aging population. The report highlights the need to address the evolving housing needs of the large and aging baby boomer generation. This post will discuss some of the analysis completed in the report as well as look closer at how North Carolina’s elderly population’s housing needs are changing, with a particular focus on affordability. According to the Harvard report, the number of adults age 65-74 will almost double between 2010 and 2030 with one in five people projected to be over 65 in 2030. This wave of aging has also shown up when looking at areas where concentrations of older people have begun to cluster. In concert with this new report, JCHS created a series of interactive maps including one showing the shift in counties with significant populations over the age of 50. In North Carolina in 1990, only two counties comprised over 40 percent of the population over the age of 50. In 2010, that number jumped to 27 counties. This significant shift in our state and nation has a significant impact on the housing needs of this demographic. Source: Carolina Population Center Source: Carolina Population Center According the JCHS report, the majority of elderly adults (68-76% depending on the age bracket) live in single-family homes with the remainder living in multifamily housing. Somewhat unsurprisingly, as people age their [...]