Senior Housing
Many private sellers don’t plan how long to promote their home when listing their house for sale by owner. Those who list privately don’t usually understand how to set realistic time lines as to how long to continue their selling process. The result usually ends up in frustration and turning to a real estate agent in failure.
First, let’s have a look at how the selling time table works. Many top real estate agents counsel and prepare their clients to bring their house for sale into show-home ready condition. This process usually returns a higher price and a quicker offer but; the down side is that there is a cost associated in terms of both money and and time if this is done properly. It is not unusual to take 2-4 weeks of preparing the home for the marketplace.
The honeymoon period of your house for sale listing is approximately 21 days. In these 3 weeks, the excitement of managing this process, dealing with home buyers, neighbors and of course real estate agents, is quite an adrenaline rush. But excitement fades quickly when the amount of effort and timing takes its toll on your emotional state. This 21 day cycle is same for those homeowners listed through a homes by owner service, or with a real estate agent. Selling your home is an evasive process, careful planning and family cooperation is a must.
Within the first 60 days or the length of an average MLS listing, the private home seller tires of the workload required to sell their home. Along with the workload could be the expense of advertising, which depending on your neighbourhood, could be thousands of dollars in no-return marketing.
Selling your home privately is an increasing option. Currently 1 in 8 homes are being marketed for sale through “Houses for Sale by Owner” services in North America. This 12% is rising year after year due to homeowners wanting to not contribute to the 30 billion commission dollars paid annually to real estate agents. Many a homeowner is prepared to roll up their sleeves and list their property for sale by owner to save some money.
Seniors who have lost their jobs often run a higher risk of foreclosure as their prospects in the job market are more challenging today as more applicants compete for fewer positions. In another 2009 study conducted by United Sample and Golden Gateway Financial, more than 50% of seniors polled said their net worth had decreased by 10% to 30% over the past year. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that 50% of this study’s respondents said they are concerned that their overall net worth may no longer be enough to sustain their retirement and they now plan to retire after the age of seventy.
As a means of coping with this fiscal predicament, many seniors have opted to move in with other members of their families to share living expenses. Intergenerational households also reap the benefit of avoiding the cost of residential care facilities by providing care and support for senior family members at home. In fact, this trend may even pre-date the recession as the U.S. Census Bureau has also released that the number of parents, siblings and other relatives living with the heads of households grew 42% from the year 2000 to 2007.
The housing industry is also taking note of how seniors are rapidly embracing technology and the internet when seeking housing options. A recent survey conducted by the Internet Home Alliance Research Council revealed that 63% of seniors have home offices in their new homes, while an amazing 70% have broadband internet access at home. Further, a survey conducted by International Demographics revealed that 47% of those over 50 years-old utilize the internet on a regular basis, and 70% of those between 50 and 64 years-old are actively online. Finally, a study by Charles Schwab showed that 13 million U.S. adults over 50 years of age have internet access, and this number is growing rapidly. This figure amazingly represents 16.5% of the total online population of the United States.
This significant increase in the utilization of the internet has provided seniors with the means to be more thorough and selective in researching housing options. As a result, senior housing providers are now concentrating their marketing efforts on the internet to attract this steadily increasing demographic. So despite the obstacles that recent economic conditions have created, seniors are quickly adapting to the times by cutting costs and becoming more technologically savvy. Since these trends are showing no signs of slowing, the housing industry must continue to quickly adjust to meet the needs of this tremendous segment of the nation’s population.
Continue reading about The Economy’s Impact on Senior Housing Trends