Planning for active aging: exploring housing preferences of elderly populations in the United States

Abstract

Increases in the elderly population (defined as people aged 65 years old and above by the United States Census Bureau) in the United States (U.S.) have reached an inflection point. This demographic shift fundamentally reshapes the magnitude of housing needs in U.S. communities. Planning housing markets for active aging, our study (1) examines how the overall housing market in the U.S. responds to increases in the elderly population, (2) identifies housing preferences of elderly populations by exploring the heterogeneous effects of increasing elderly populations on different types/sizes of houses. Our results suggest that increases in the elderly population are associated with a slight rise in prices in the overall housing market. It points towards the role of increasing elderly populations in shaping the housing market, bringing both opportunities and challenges in reframing urban and housing policy. The study also shows that increases in the elderly population have significant and positive effects on single-family homes and small homes, but no impact on condominiums and large homes. The heterogeneous effects on different types/sizes of housing represent the preferences of elderly populations to single-family homes and small homes. Given the increasing size and share of elderly populations and severe shortages in affordable elderly housing, our study suggests that a strong commitment to reframing urban policy and housing programs targeting assistance and support toward elderly populations such as the Sect. 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program, is in great need of federal and local governments’ interventions.