These new statistics show that when people are thinking about renovating their homes they should keep an eye toward resale down the road. The largest group of people that you will be marketing your home too will be baby boomers that are planning to have only one or two people living in the home at any time.
This affects the planning and designing of your renovations, you should be designing (if you plan to resell your home one day) so that it appeals to older couples that do not have children that will be living in their home permanently.
When designing bathrooms do not worry about making the bathrooms children friendly by sacrificing design and style. Functionality, orientation and the overall flow of spaces specifically tailored to the aging population will help raise the appeal of your home to future buyers. Make sure that you install at least one walk in shower in the home, baby boomers do not require tub/shower combinations, they might work for a guest room but for the main bathroom it should be a glass walk in, if you have the room to install a bench then this will help the resale value as well.
The baby boomer generation is asking for smaller houses, but their plan is to have only one or two people living in them, compared to the average Canadian family that is between 3 and 4. So even though they are buying smaller houses there is more square footage per person for them to live in.
The other thing that baby boomers are wanting is an extremely high degree of finishing and all of the modern conveniences. That means that when you remodel a home you want to wire for modern technology and install the proper structured wiring. Controlling your homes mechanical systems from your laptop or smart phone has become a real demand for all people; the boomer generation is just like all other demographics they like their tools, toys and technology.
The small creature comforts have become increasingly in demand; heated floors, accent lighting, gas fireplaces and centre vac.
These same people are asking for high end finishing’s on the floors and tile but also want it to be little to no maintenance. This will limit the options you will have but will make the care and functionality worth it in the end.
If you are building a new home with an eye to selling it down the road then I suggest that you build a bungalow. The boomer generation is not that interested in climbing stairs. If you own a home that is a two story then you should think about reworking the first floor layout to include a first floor master bedroom. The upstairs rooms can be considered guest rooms or hobby rooms.
Remember to think about the person that wants to buy your home one day and try to incorporate some of things that will appeal to them.
Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.
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