Housing Decisions for the Elderly: To Move or Not to Move

Because many elderly wish to age in place, they typically give little thought to the future of their housing options. Housing Decisions for the Elderly articulates the relevant issues regarding the diversity and complexity of housing decisions in terms of moving or not moving.

To move or not to move is really part of the aging-in-place debate. In this guidebook, the authors deal with such issues as changes in economic income and stances; changes in household composition and health; and the psychosocial and metaphysical significance of “house.”

This treatment of housing decisions regarding aging in place serves to assist professionals and laypersons to help the elderly make more informed choices and to plan better for the future. Housing Decisions for the Elderly reminds those who work with elderly persons--community organization workers; housing counselors and specialists; home health care agencies; and gerontologists--that the proportion of persons living in family settings decreases with age, so that the older the person, the more likely he or she will be living above or with nonrelatives in institutional or quasi-institutional settings.

While changes in household composition typically occur at one or more points in the aging process such as death of spouse, incapacitating illness or loss of income, other housing issues to consider are addressed:

• why socioeconomic determinants of housing decisions of elderly homeowners focuses primarily on housing characteristics (owning vs. renting), length of housing tenure, age, and support from relatives
• how elderly housing assistance programs affect housing tenure deals with age as the single most important factor
• factors that influence pre-retiree’s propensity to move at retirement
• access to health care, freedom from house maintenance, and supportive services as the main determinants of moving to a continuing care retirement community