Baby boomers are no longer the largest generational age group in the United States — that baton has been passed to millennials — but the boomers still have an outsize influence on housing demand and availability. Many adults over the age of 55, which now includes the upper edge of Generation X as well as the boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, may want to trade in their large family home but are having trouble finding what they want at a cost they can afford.
According to a 2022 national poll conducted by the University of Michigan, nearly 90% of people ages 50 to 80 would prefer to age in their own homes but need those homes to be safe and functional. The ideal home for aging in place, according to the National Council on Aging, is smaller with less maintenance, single-level living, ADA features (e.g., wide doorways, grab bars in bathrooms, nonskid flooring, etc.). These older adults either need to renovate their existing homes or find something new.
“The problem is, there’s a demand for [55-plus] communities, but the price point is above many people’s ability to pay,” says Joan Dorsey, Long & Foster’s managing broker for the Village of Midlothian, Victoria and South Boston offices, as well as president of the Richmond Association of Realtors. “If you don’t have a mortgage now, you don’t want one again. And if you’re too old, then you don’t qualify [for a mortgage].”
Dorsey says most older homeowners want smaller homes on single lots with first-floor primary suites and no exterior maintenance. But those newer homes, while smaller, can cost as much, if not more, than the house being left. Many maintenance-free neighborhoods have monthly homeowners’ association fees in the hundreds of dollars, which cover services such as exterior and/or interior maintenance and amenities. Those costs, coupled with interest rates that are the highest they’ve been in 20 years, are keeping people in the same homes where they raised their children.
Roger Glover, whose business, Cornerstone Homes, specializes in the 55-plus market, agrees that price can be a challenge. In the beginning, roughly 60% of the sales he saw were all-cash, meaning buyers were able to purchase a new home without a mortgage. Now that number is down to 40%. “Over the last five years, prices have risen,” Glover notes. “It’s much harder to sell a house and build the house of your dreams.”
Glover isn’t surprised by how the market is moving.
“Demand [for 55-plus communities] has been what we expected,” Glover says. “[When I founded Cornerstone], the boomer generation was the largest active home-buying group and had the greatest percentage of disposable income [in the country].
“I think most people are looking at this as their last home, where they can live throughout their golden years,” he adds. “These homes are designed for easy living and are fully handicapped accessible.”
Richmond is an in-demand destination, Long & Foster’s Dorsey notes. “A lot of younger people have moved here for affordability reasons, then the parents were like, ‘Hey, I want to go there, too,’” she says. “The counties [surrounding Richmond] have really grown in the last five to 10 years. You can see a drastic increase in population.”
Cornerstone has built homes in Chickahominy Falls in Hanover County and is in the development stages for an additional 169 homesites there that should be ready for purchase by the end of 2025. The company is also in the zoning process for a development off Hull Street in Chesterfield County that could have homes available in 2027.
Next-Step Neighborhoods
Several communities in the area offer independent living and social amenities for older adults through prefab and customizable standalone homes.
Chesterfield County
Bordering Lake Chesdin and located off Ivey Mill Road, ready-made homes and new construction lots are available waterside or inland.
Henrico County
This gated Tuckahoe community’s standalone homes include two-bedroom cottages close to their main campus.
Hanover County
The sprawling Cornerstone Homes community north of Glen Allen offers single-level homes in their Burroughs development, carriage homes in Woodside Bluffs and semi-custom new homes in Pine Springs.
Chesterfield County
Just west of Chester, this recent addition offers five new construction plans and customizable floor models for builds off Ironbridge Boulevard.
