Baby Boomers and NJ Real Estate Market, How does it effect the traditional Broker?

The good news is we are at bottom in NJ and clearly on the road to recovery.  Although the tax credit and low interest rates have created an artificial bubble since October '09 and continuing through the next 60 days, NJ real estate sales is showing a recovery (in most counties of the state).  However, baby boomers will have an enormous effect going forward.  The next generation of home buyers will not look for "McMansions" as the baby boomers did, they will not need or want housing that is large, full of bedrooms and cost a lot to run. They will be sensitive to the location of housing and the distance of their commute.  They will want "towns" again not the housing developments of the 2000's. As the baby boomers retire and downsize, the market will become saturated with unsellable large housing.  The next generation makes 17% less than the baby boomers did and interest rates will be rising so less home will be affordable too.  The second housing market will have the same effect with shore houses being unattainable for many generation Xers.

In NJ we are seeing a trend toward senior housing but at the age of 55-65 after that older adults are living with children or downsizing back into communities where they can walk to shops and restaurants.  As a Broker/Owner of a NJ real estate company I can tell you we are making huge efforts to connect with the senior community.  We offer a vast amount of information on our website, www.justjerseyrealestate.com to help locate housing and senior living facilities throughout the state-even though we are not paid a commission to locate seniors there. We also link to state information and the office of aging.  We just launched a program that works with senior housing facilities in NJ to help families sell houses for their parents. We assign a personal transaction assistant to work with the family or senior in getting the home ready for sale, finding the right contractors, locating a real estate specialist in the area etc.  Our services are free of charge and help the family deal with the challenges of selling a home.