Boomer dilemma: sell or stay?

Climate change, family change, attitude change.

For the first time anybody can remember, we've had snow in six consecutive months, including two separate weeks when we could not get out of the driveway (unheard of in the Puget Sound). My wife refuses to get behind the wheel at the sign of a snowflake, and my arthritic knees seem to lock up at the mere mention of "overnight accumulation."

Our four kids are grown and gone. If you've ever experienced a child's first birthday away from home, you've got a twinge of the emotional package headed your way. We miss their energy, the chaos of late-night gatherings, and the intense negotiating over who is going to take the car. The powerful family dynamic on display at the dinner table on a Sunday night no longer highlights the weekend.

Periodically, we have asked ourselves: Would we ever leave this place? Would it make sense to consider a smaller home closer to town? No more lawn, lower monthly heating costs, a short walk to the store and the movies? Maybe even a move to a sunnier climate where there are no traces of snow any time of year?

The first step is choosing the correct time to even raise the question. I've stayed away from pondering the idea during terrific family reunions or lonely, kid-less weekends. It's probably best to begin on rather neutral ground, someplace in between those extremes.

And, as much as we cherish their visits, our kids' return to the family home can realistically be slotted only for short-term holiday seasons and getaway summer vacations. Sure, the house and yard would be terrific for grandkids, but we are not even close.

Our housing decisions also are common to our friends and relatives. Time marches on, and the buying tendencies of specific groups become more apparent than others. Being smack dab in the middle of the baby boom generation, I've followed how boomers have changed just about every retail component from cars to jeans to ice cream to health care. Surprisingly, our peers are not really buying down. They are buying one-story homes, but not necessarily smaller homes.

In each of the past five surveys done by the National Association of Home Builders, the size of the home requested by boomers continued to be about the size of their previous home. (I am still waiting for a housing survey considering the effects of climate change.) Depending upon where these buyers were from, they wanted homes between 1,600 square feet and 2,400 square feet and they were willing to pay to have them properly "wired" for technology. They are requesting first-floor living space, including a master suite, as well as high-end kitchens, luxurious master suites and baths, and high-tech media rooms. ...CONTINUED

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