HousingWireHousingWire
The state of the U.S. housing market — particularly its levels of affordability, available inventory and accessibility for those with mobility or cognitive challenges — presents a unique challenge for older Americans on fixed incomes. This has led to a “failure” to properly serve the senior cohort.
These are the assertions of a report published last week by the Urban Institute. The organization assessed the rising life expectancies of older people against their financial situations, particularly as older Americans have become increasingly cost-burdened by housing.
“Over the past two decades, the number of senior households considered severely cost burdened — those spending more than half their income on housing — has nearly doubled, rising from 5.2 million to nearly 11.7 million,” the report explained, citing survey data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The share of cost-burdened households led by older adults has also increased, the report noted. In 2000, 11.5% of older households reported facing housing cost burdens. By 2016, this figure had increased to more than 16%.
While home prices, mortgages and other fees are drivers of this burden, they are not alone. Utility and maintenance costs also factor into the equation, as do property taxes and homeowners insurance. The latter two elements have seen staggering price increases in recent years stemming from things like commercial building vacancies and an acceleration of natural disasters.
“Some demographic groups are more affected than others,” the report explained. “Renter households are more likely than owners to be cost burdened at all ages. Older seniors, those 75 and older, are more likely to be cost burdened than younger seniors. Other research finds that rising insurance premiums have also made senior living communities more expensive.”
While younger people generally have more flexibility to regulate their spending in response to an economic shock, older people — especially those 75 and older — do not have the same flexibility. This could be due to necessary health care expenditures or housing payments, particularly for older renters.
But there are potential avenues worth exploring to provide relief in specific situations, the report said. These include property tax deferral programs for homeowners; state-issued Medicaid waivers that can be applied to housing; subsidized insurance costs for low- and middle-income households; more funding for Section 8 vouchers; and an expansion in the number of subsidized affordable housing units.
Older Americans also have to contend with living in a home that may not be accessible for their needs as they grow older. And they are also pinched by a lack of supply that can make moving difficult at best or unrealistic at worst, the report explained.
