Housing affordability is becoming a central obstacle to Americans’ ability to retire, especially for those living on fixed and limited incomes.
The big picture: The high cost of housing is a growing problem for older Americans in supply-constrained and wealth-divided cities, and for developers of senior housing facing a growing preference for “aging in place.”
Driving the news: While developers saw the looming wave of retiring Baby Boomers as a gold mine, many are instead finding the growing trend of seniors remaining in their homes is leaving them with empty buildings, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"In a city like San Francisco where you can’t afford to retire, many of our members can’t afford to leave — they're in rent-controlled apartments," says Jacqueline Jones, whose nonprofit, NEXT Village, helps seniors stay in their homes.
By the numbers: Next year, the average social security monthly payment will be $1,503.
What’s next: The number of older renters earning 50% or less of their area’s median income is projected to grow to 7.6 million, according to a 2016 report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
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