NBN Online for the week of March 26, 2007

Aging Boomers May Be Hard to Budge From Current Homes

The 55+ market is becoming an increasingly important focus of the nation’s housing industry as members of the baby boom approach the traditional retirement years, but builders hoping to entice households into new homes may find the going tough because older Americans, by and large, are happy with where they currently live.

A comprehensive profile of the growing housing market for the elderly compiled earlier this year by NAHB’s 50+ Housing Council describes a group of households that generally include only one or two persons, many of whom have relatively high incomes and many of whom are at the low end of the pay scale. The study then looks at the characteristics of the homes in which members of this population live, as well as factors behind their moving decisions, to suggest opportunities for tapping into this market.

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Lumber Prices Provided by Random Lengths

Leverage Yielding Home Buyers Big Financial Benefits

In the most recent edition of NAHB HouseKeys, NAHB’s online publication for consumers, national real estate columnist Ken Harney provides information that builders can use to bolster their ‘buy now’ campaigns when he explains how prospective first-time home buyers can use leveraging to their financial advantage.

“There’s no question that buying a house — especially your first — can be a perplexing, even scary, matter,” Harney writes. “I remember buying my own first house years ago, toward the end of a boom period in prices and sales.”

‘Buy Now’ Advertising Assistance Nears $1 Million. Apply Now.

If your local association is currently engaged in an ongoing advertising campaign in print, radio or television outlets, or if you are planning such a campaign, have your association apply for a “Buy Now” matching advertising assistance grant from NAHB. HBAs from around the country have already applied and have begun to receive their assistance funds. 

To date, 38 local associations have applied for advertising assistance grants from the $1 million to be awarded during the first phase of the program, and $932,429 has been approved. The total cost of the campaigns is $3.5 million. Another $2 million will be made available if the program is successful, and HBAs are encouraged to apply now.

NAHB launched the multi-million dollar grant program last month to assist local home builders associations in an effort to bolster home sales in markets hit hard by the current housing downturn and help offset the cost of local ad campaigns.

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