July 23, 2019
One Florida City Where Senior Rental Numbers Grew Most Over the Past Decade
The demographic landscape in the United States is such that at present more than 22 percent of the total population is age 60 and older. This reflects not only the declining birth rates that came in the wake of the so-called Great Recession, but that the Baby Boom generation passed the milestone of its average member being age 53 in 2017, and further that healthcare quality has improved so much in recent decades that, among this generation at least, life expectancy is quite high. In fact, the national median age in 2017 was 38.1 years of age—a jump of almost two percent from a decade earlier—making the United States the “oldest” it has ever been in its history.
Along with this general population trend has come a rise in the age of average renters of homes in the past decade, according to a recent report by RentCafe. Naturally, renters still tend on the whole to be younger—the median age of renters was still 42 in 2017, while owners in that year had a median age of 56. But during the decade spanning 2007-2017, the over-60 age cohort was the highest rising population among renters—increasing by an astonishing 43 percent (rising from 6.55 million in 2007 to 9.37 million in 2017). Many seniors, it seems, have been choosing to sell homes they see as too large and difficult to maintain, and moving instead into smaller rental properties.
And, as with all things population-based, this trend has affected some places more than others.
It’s natural that as seniors move into rental spots, the places they would tend to gravitate would be warm places with a healthy retirement culture. Which describes the city with the oldest median age to a t. Cape Coral, in our service area of Florida, comes in at number one, with a median age of 47.9 years (29.6 percent of renters there are 60+). Hialeah, also in Florida, comes in at number two, with a median age of 46.5 (and its percentage of 60+ renters is higher, at 32.4 percent). But these areas were solid bastions of older populations even ten years ago. Another story is the change in percentage of population of older residents over the past decade. Interestingly, Austin, Texas saw the greatest rise in 60+ year old renters. Jacksonville, Florida came in at fourth in that list, with a rise of 83 percent in the number of this cohort in rentals between 2007 and 2017.
As these seniors leave the market, younger homeowners are stepping into the homes they are selling. These purchasers want to be certain they are receiving a clear claim to title at closing. My team and I at Topouzis & Associates, P.C. come in at this stage, performing title searches to confirm (or refute) claims of deed and title, and to fix any defects if possible. We do things by the book, but think outside the box to ensure every element of the title conveyed is free and clear of any unanticipated problems.
