Older citizens, minorities will affect housing most

In a study titled America’s Regional Demographics in the ‘00s Decade: The Role of Seniors, Boomers and New Minorities, MBA and the Brookings Institution analyze these groups of consumers and how they will transform the U.S. population in the next several decades.

The study finds that the overall U.S. population will experience a rapid aging as boomers grow older, while absorbing large numbers of young recent immigrants, particularly Hispanics and Asians.

Survey findings indicate that suburban areas will “gray” faster than urban areas, due to baby boomers choosing to age in place.

“Demographic changes are one of the most powerful forces impacting the residential and commercial real estate and real estate finance markets,” said Doug Duncan, MBA vice president and senior vice president of research and business development, in a news release.

Aging patterns

Several findings addressed aging patterns in different U.S. regions.

Among the related findings:

• The most dramatic impact of aging in place will be in parts of the country which are not now associated with aging populations, such as Nevada, Colorado, or Georgia. These states that will exhibit the fastest senior growth are not necessarily the ones that have the highest percentage of seniors.

• Well-off young senior populations will emerge in Las Vegas, Denver, Dallas and Atlanta.

Ethnicity changes

While many people tend to think of the United States as a melting pot, Hispanic, Asian and other minority groups are disproportionately clustered in selected areas. Survey data shows that minorities tend to be younger and are generally highly mobile.

The study also showed that New York, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California are “new minority” states, with Asian and Hispanic individuals accounting for more than one-third of the population.