​Boomer Wave Inspires Chicago Real Estate Investment Idea

From midway across the Pacific came an interesting commentary last week—one that noted an idea that mainland Chicago investors might find worth mulling over. The article appeared in the HawaiiHomes section of Oahu’s Star-Advertiser. It profiled an investor couple who have decided to make a change in their real estate portfolio.

The investors (“Joyce” and “Reid”) are seniors themselves. They have “been reading about the demand for senior-friendly housing”— information bolstered by the fact that over 10,000 people turn 65 every day in the U.S. That AARP statistic is a little startling until you realize that there are 77 million American Boomers who were born between 1946 and 1964.

To Joyce and Reid, that fact—plus their having noticed how local senior-friendly housing prices were on the rise—convinced them that a portfolio change might be warranted. They ultimately decided to swap their current investment property—a two-story townhome—for a more centrally-located property. It’s walking-distance centrality, in addition to a single-story floor plan, made it decidedly senior-friendly.
The decision was fortified by other observations. In their area, some senior living communities were already experiencing waitlists. They reasoned that the senior-friendly rental was likely to command increasingly higher rents. And just in case in future years they found themselves unable to obtain suitable housing, they might eventually decide to move into their investment property themselves.

The demographic repercussions the Hawaiian landlords observed is one that Chicago residents have probably been reading about, too. Chicago real estate investors might want to tuck that factor in the back of their minds when they’re weighing alternative real estate investments. I’ll be here to assist with all Chicago’s real estate investment alternatives!