Women Boomers and Housing - Choices for a Bright Future

As we enter the New Year I have been thinking a lot about financial planning and happiness. Funny how intertwined the two tend to be!

While many of us are rethinking our spending habits amidst the poor economic news and wondering if we really NEED all those things we tend to buy, the fact of the matter is that even if we simplify and downsize there are some financial realities that we just can't escape.

And for women these financial realities can be much different than those faced by our male counterparts. I listened to a great talk by Carol Carlan, a consultant with "Our Collective Mind" at the Pensacola area Women's Council of Realtors yesterday. Some points she made deserve to be shared:

• U.S. Life Expectancy - for Women 83, Men 76
• 3 out of 4 Married Women will be Widowed
• 3 Common Mistakes Women Make 1) Don't Invest in a 401k 2) Don't Diversify and Take Risks in Investing 3) Underestimate Health Care Costs
• Carol's talk reminded me of a recent study which was conducted by the Harvard Generations Policy Program. The findings indicated that while the approximately 40 million baby boomer women are  the largest generation to reach their 40s, their financial security may not be assured unless they make wise housing choices.  

The study showed that boomer women (born from 1946 to 1964) spend more, acquire more debt, and are less likely to have traditional pensions, spousal benefits or retiree health coverage than other cohort groups. For these women - interestingly enough, the majority of those I saw sitting around me at the Pensacola Women's Council of Realtors group - housing is a key to their future security and happiness.

The Harvard study says unequivocally that women of the baby boom generation who own their own homes (either alone or with a spouse) will be at an economic advantage.

Over the past two years I have watched our hot housing market cool, our economy slow down and potential buyers wring their hands as they worried over finding the bottom of the local housing market. Both Carol Carlan's talk and my review of the Harvard study reminded me just how important it is to review with potential buyers the decision tree for renting vs. buying. Long term financial goals and security always have to be part of the equation and in most cases, buying wins out.

As we enter a new year and take stock of where we are and where we are going, whether we are female boomers or not, housing should be a big part of our equation. With the current attractive housing prices in the Pensacola area, low interest rates and the generous seller concessions we are seeing, NOW is a great time to explore whether buying is right for you. If you agree, don't wait . . . call your professional Realtor!

The chart above provides an overview of the Escambia and Santa Rosa County single family home, condominium and townhome sales from 2006 to 2008. You will note that sale prices are down while selling days on the market have increased significantly. Firgures were taken from the Pensacola Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service. 

 Robin Sherman, Robin@PensacolaForYou.com