Are Seniors to Blame for the Current Housing Crisis?

We can all agree that there currently is not enough housing to satisfy the demand in our local real estate market. There are numerous contributing factors to this shortage, like lower levels of new construction due to government red tape that slows the whole process. Some would even argue that builders are building too many condos and not building what people actually want.

Depending on the expert you talk to, the reasoning behind the low inventory levels and heightened demand will change - much like our weather.

However, there is one factor that certainly can be contributing to the lack of desirable homes on the market:

Seniors staying put & aging in place in their current homes.

Seniors are staying put, eschewing rentals, condos, and retirement homes and instead, staying in that big 4 bedroom home they raised their family in.

This trend, known as aging in place, has been on the rise due to a variety of reasons like increased healthcare options and accessibility modifications that allow seniors to comfortably stay in their homes longer. This has resulted in fewer homes being put up for sale and contributing to the low inventory levels.

Seniors are like the rest of us in that we want to put down roots, build a community, and be surrounded by people we know. Our current system is set up to essentially warehouse seniors in care facilities and retirement homes. We only have to recall how retirement homes and senior care facilities fared during the pandemic to understand why our seniors are reluctant to leave their homes.

Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation published a report, Housing Market Insight, this past November that shows seniors are becoming more reluctant to move or rent and prefer to age in place until the last possible moment. There is a growing trend to create additional housing through secondary suites and laneway homes to accommodate seniors and keep them close to their families.

A recent Deloitte report showed that 91% of Ontario seniors want to stay in their own homes as long as possible. Emerging from the pandemic, the current senior care systems was shown to be under serious strain, and had been even before the pandemic started. The pandemic came to highlight the downfalls of our current system and create a better system for seniors. This new way of thinking aims to encourage more resources & support systems to allow for seniors to age gracefully & with dignity. The focus has shifted to creating more senior-centric communities.

Our current system is disordered at best, and focused on “warehousing” our seniors versus making it easier to stay in their communities and bringing services to them. The examples to look at include Denmark, Ireland, and Australia. These countries are working to create age-friendly communities and strategies to deliver more healthcare where seniors are located vs forcing them to follow the healthcare. You can check out the full report from Deloitte HERE.

Now, If all the seniors suddenly decided to up and sell, it’s not going to alleviate the housing crisis. Like anything in the housing market, decisions are made over a long time line. The challenge is to get leaders in government, housing, and other sectors like senior health care thinking of long term solutions that are cost effective and designed to meet the end user’s needs, versus creating programmes and expecting consumers/clients to adjust to the structure of the programme.

There’s a lot of stakeholder inertia and risk that needs to be overcome to effect real change in the housing market. It’s not just simple changes; there are huge systems like our long term care homes & senior care systems that are affecting the housing market.

The question is, who is willing to stick their neck out and advocate for these huge systemic changes when the benefits will be years out?

Enjoy the weekend & thanks for reading.

Paul Fitzpatrick

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