Baby boomers opt for less spacious, lower-maintenance accommodations / LJWorld.com

Lawrence and Douglas county

Lawrence market filling niche for over-50 buyers

January 16, 2007

Baby boomers, unlike their parents, are looking to downsize at an earlier age.

An increasing number of boomers are moving into lofts, townhouses or villas, and even more are considering such a move. The reasons vary: maintenance-free living, one-floor housing or warmer climates.

About 6 percent of Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 move each year, according to the Over-50 Council of the National Association of Home Builders.

Among them are Jim and Carol Roberts of Lawrence.

Jim Roberts, vice provost for research at Kansas University, and his wife moved to the new Hobbs Taylor Lofts about 15 months ago. They cut the size of their home in half and haven't looked back.

The Robertses moved to Lawrence when their children already had left home and bought a house on 10 acres in rural Douglas County. They grew elaborate gardens that consumed Carol's time - so much so that it was practically a full-time job, Jim said. When they read about the opening of the lofts, they decided they were ready for a change, and the low-maintenance lifestyle appealed to them, he said.

The Robertses got rid of a floor's worth of furniture and other items by having an auction, donating to charity and filling a few Dumpsters.

"It was therapeutic," Jim Roberts said. "It was a great experience to clean out a lot of that stuff. It was tough for me in the beginning, but once I got into it, I really got going."

Lawrence developer Scot Hoffman, who has nearly completed his 65-unit development, The Villas, in west Lawrence, said the simpler life is a driving factor for many baby boomers who choose to move.

"Downsize, downsize, downsize," he said. They "want to simplify. They want to travel, free themselves up a little bit."

Hoffman started developing The Villas six years ago and has only two units available, he said.

In that time, he said, he's never had anyone regret the decision to move into one of his villas, which sell for about $450,000 to $500,000.

Photo by Mike Yoder

Baby boomers looking for less maintenance or a more friendly floor plan are increasingly considering a move to a loft, townhome or villa. Bella Sera, a $45 million, 99-condo project on 8.24 acres along the north side of Bob Billings Parkway near Wakarusa Drive, is one such unit currently under construction. The project's first of three buildings will include a fitness center, media room, library, game room and other amenities on the main level and an underground parking garage.

"Once they've decided to do this, I've found, there's nothing that's going to stop them," he said.

Lawrence school board member Sue Morgan and her husband, Jeff, moved into The Villas about two years ago.

Downsizing wasn't as big of an issue for the Morgans, but finding a home that was just one level and didn't require extensive yardwork and exterior maintenance played a big part, Sue Morgan said.

"We now live in a place where the homeowners association takes care of that," she said.

Mark Buhler, supervising broker for Stephens Real Estate, said he hasn't seen a particularly large increase in the number of baby boomers and empty nesters seeking to move out of their existing homes, but he has heard people - even some of his own friends - talking about it.

Buhler said he thought people were taking a deliberate approach to deciding when is the right time to move out of the family home and into somewhere more suited to a couple without children or approaching retirement.

That may include deciding on whether and where to build a second residence, which Lawrence developer Jes Santaularia said comprises a large portion of his target market.

Santaularia is building Bella Sera at the Preserve, Bob Billings Parkway and Inverness Drive, which is targeted at adults older than 50.

"What we have today is a population that is significantly more mobile. It's not uncommon for a couple 50-plus to have more than one residence," Santaularia said.

The developer said he's found most of his new residents are interested in a low-maintenance environment, having freedom and independence to come and go as they please and a sense of neighborhood and community.

The Robertses, in Hobbs Taylor Lofts, are certainly enjoying their new community.

"We were sitting around with our neighbors the other day, giggling about how much fun we're having. In some ways, it's almost like living in a college dorm," Jim Roberts said.

Discussion

LJWorld.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.
Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.

16 January 2007
at 6:38 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

budwhysir (Anonymous) says…

Wonder what type of syndrome this will cause.
Probably small house itis. Or rumatiod small houses
16 January 2007
at 7:26 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

irishblues (Anonymous) says…

Yep, I had a realtor tell me in so many words my big house will be worth less money and a small house will be worth more. Just my luck, as I too want a smaller house, but like most other people, gotta sell this one first
16 January 2007
at 11:09 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Jamesaust (Anonymous) says…

Wow. Another advertisement for a local condo development. Maybe LJW should just consider an ad insert instead of passing off the free publicity as “news.” The only “fact” is the 6% move-per-year citation (which isn't even relevant to this “commercial”).
16 January 2007
at 11:11 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (Anonymous) says…

I was thinking the same thing.
16 January 2007
at 11:27 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

bd (Anonymous) says…

I wish I could downsize to a 400-500k condo!!??

Hey! Maybe I could convert my 120k small home into a 400-500k condo and sell it to one of these boomers???
16 January 2007
at 12:37 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

budwhysir (Anonymous) says…

Yes now I see it, this is just another add that directs us to buy many of the condos being built here in town. Why would one downsize after all those years of working to get what they want?

Because you can pay the same amount of TAXES on that small condo and they can build more small condos than they can big houses. This means we will have more people paying more taxes on more CONDOS and we can do away with all the houses that take up so much room.

Then in the future we can create a special condo tax that would increase the cost of living in a condo and that will be all that is in town so we will generate alot more tax revenue. I see where this is going, many more condo developers in lawrence convincing older people Lawrence is a good place to retire to and raising our tax base. I bet there wont be any condos out by the FOP with all that gun noise going on all hours of the night. Someone said it sounds like a war zone out there
16 January 2007
at 1:26 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

preebo (Anonymous) says…

Again with the Baby-Boomers. It appears now that they want less space instead of more. The funny thing is, this generation more then any other has changed the shape of every aspect of American life, good or bad. There are just too damn many of them. Seriously, every issue facing America tody has been shaped by this Juggernaut generation. Now, we are looking at their consumer influence on the housing market and this is just another example of the power they wield over the local market. First, Social Security; then Healthcare, and now housing prices.

16 January 2007
at 1:50 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

budwhysir (Anonymous) says…

Baby boomers will be followed by condo climbers
16 January 2007
at 1:51 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Godot (Anonymous) says…

I wonder how many hours of lawnmowing, tree trimming and housecleaning you could afford to hire for the extra $200,000 or $300,000 you have to spend in order to “downsize” to a maintenance-provided condo?
16 January 2007
at 1:54 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Godot (Anonymous) says…

And, of course these boomers are pushing to have their property taxes frozen, or forgiven, or deferred, simply because they are “old.”
16 January 2007
at 1:59 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (Anonymous) says…

“I wonder how many hours of lawnmowing, tree trimming and housecleaning you could afford to hire for the extra $200,000 or $300,000”

Depends— are they undocumented workers getting $5 an hour, or are they established, legal residents of the area getting a living wage?
16 January 2007
at 2:36 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Godot (Anonymous) says…

From the NYTimes, on condo sales slump:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/rea…
16 January 2007
at 2:43 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

budwhysir (Anonymous) says…

I think the city should pony up and just give everyone of the baby boomers in lawrence a free condo. They would be able to live there tax and rent free.

Imagine the warm feeling from helping all the boomers
16 January 2007
at 4:44 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

budwhysir (Anonymous) says…

I know if I was a baby boomer what I would do. I would buy me a great big house with too many bedrooms and a very high mortgage payment. Just to show the other baby boomers how I dont like to conform to the norm of being a baby boomer. However if baby boomers where actualy booming I would be a slug and not boom cause booming would be the norm for baby boomers but not me cause Im not a boomer Im a crasher and we operate differntly than those of the boomer classification cause we are in the crasher classifications. Thanks and have a nice baby boomer day
16 January 2007
at 6:38 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

bevy (Anonymous) says…

I had the same thought - they downsized to an exorbitantly priced condo. Which happens to be across the street from Gun Central. Maybe they're out on the balcony at 2 a.m. on the weekends “giggling” at the cops trying to arrest people for brawling outside Last Call.

But you know how they afforded that, right? It says they owned 10 rural acres near Lawrence. Where the price of land has increased exponentially in the past decade. They probably made a killing.

17 January 2007
at 1:46 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

kg52 (Anonymous) says…

I'm one of those boomers - grew up in Lawrence but couldn't afford to live there now - how do you all afford the prices of houses, or apartments or condos - you can get a lot more for the same money in Topeka which is where I guess I will have to stay even though my heart will always be in my hometown. I remember back in the day when I lived in North Lawrence in my early married life - we actually bought a big old house for $10,500.00 (in the late 70s) - it wasn't fancy but it was warm and cozy. It had indoor plumbing and running water and everything. Now you pay half of that or more for a storage shed.