Building for Baby Boomers

With the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) forecasting that the number of Americans 55 and older will rise from 76.6 million in 2010 to 85.3 million in 2014, builders and remodelers are poised to profit on projects that meet the needs of aging baby boomers.

Just ask Pat Kelley, chairman of the NAHB’s 50+ Plus Housing Council. As the market research leader for the 50-plus senior housing industry, the organization offers resources and networking opportunities to contractors who serve this growing demographic. Now, more than ever, baby boomers want to remain in their homes as they age rather than move to assisted living communities.

“Baby boomers have traditionally had their eye on Florida, Arizona and Texas as they retire,” Kelley says. But last year’s stock market losses and the return of their “Boomerang kids” to the nest have also prompted the population to reassess next steps as they enter elderhood, he adds.

“They are going to work longer and they want to stay in their community surrounded by people their own age and their families,” Kelley says.

What boomers want
This generation working longer could translate into larger project budgets for potential clients, Kelley notes. In Franklin Square, N.Y, Vita Burdi, vice president of DJ’s Home Improvements, has been managing her aging client list for more than a decade. Before taking on a boomer build-out or remodeling project, she makes sure to ask the questions that help her better understand the homeowners’ needs.

“They want to be able to have maintenance-free situations,” she says on boomer building demands. “Our boomer clients want to spend less time maintaining their homes, and instead devote the time to travel, family and friends, second careers, volunteer causes etc.”

Additional boomer building requests often revolve around the prominence of the den, or a common “fun room” as Burdi calls it.

“They are willing to give up a formal living room or dining room rather than a den area where they can have the kids over for dinner and watch TV,” she says. As a result, they want access built into what is becoming the boomers’ new “heart of the home.”

To create these family-oriented spaces, Boomers often request staircases that start in either the kitchen or the den versus the formal living room. Other requests include transitioning the formal dining/living room area into a first floor living space for boomers that would eliminate the need for travel up and down stairs. Upstairs bedrooms can then be used to accommodate children or a live-in caretaker.

Universal spaces
Once contractors help boomers identify their current needs, they may have to discuss their clients’ future needs. By doing so, contractors can save their clients thousands of dollars in additional upgrades and in the process, land themselves a number of referred clients, Burdi says.

“One of the questions we ask all of our clients is, ‘How long are you going to live here?’” she says. For those looking to “age in place,” she makes recommendations based on the principles of Universal Design™, a building concept that ensures all products and environments are usable by all people without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

In her pitch to clients, she promotes remodeling a home so it’s easily navigable for people of all ages. Installing grab bars in the tub and shower and at the toilet, substituting lever handles for door knobs, creating a shower room and widening existing doorways are all practices that adhere to Universal Design™ guidelines, she says.

“Nobody wants to admit they are going to need these things, so it has to be a soft sell,” advises Burdi, who adds that disassociating the design practice from “handicap accessibility” may warm boomers up to the concept. “Let’s make sure whatever it is you want to do here, you can still do it while you are aging,” she says.

Practicality and value
Today’s boomers are looking to add extra guest rooms for adult children and grandchildren, install higher countertops to avoid backaches and widen doors to 36-inches versus the standard 24- to 32-inches.

And like most customers, many are also looking for the best value on their build-out, says Patricia Nunan, an independent living design specialist and member of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI). With home prices plummeting over the past year, many are eager to shell out a one-time sum for a home addition that can accommodate a caretaker or family member rather than pouring money into an annual lease at an assisted living facility.

“It was going to cost [a recent client couple] $60,000 a year to live in one,” Nunan recalls of a current job. “Instead, it cost $75,000 to a build a one-bedroom, one-bath addition on their Cape Cod house and they can live there for another 10 years.”

Understanding such need for value, convenience—coupled by the practice of Universal Design™—will be a key factor in helping builders and remodelers continue lucrative business with boomers over the next 20 years, Kelley says.

“Most importantly—always help your clients plan ahead,” he says.