Features: How Aging Americans Are Navigating (and Shaping) the Housing Market

Matthew Wells
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Matthew Wells: https://www.richmondfed.org/research/people/wells

Econ Focus, 2026, vol. 26, issue Q3, 4-7

Abstract: A young couple saves up and buys a house in a leafy suburban neighborhood. After a while, they have a few kids. Those kids eventually move away to begin their own lives. The couple considers downsizing, but the neighborhood has become as much a home as their actual house. They decide to stay, unable to imagine life anywhere else. Besides, the nearest senior living community is in a different town where they'd be starting over, and they don't have long-term care insurance, so they'd have to pay completely out of pocket. On the other hand, if they stay in their home, the mortgage will be paid off in a year or two, and the house could someday provide a nest egg for their grandkids.

Keywords: housing; and; housing; finance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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