Baby boomers own homes, lots of them, with empty rooms, lots of them.
An article by Cameron Simons suggests that baby boomers and millennials might find common ground in the housing market. That is, in the extra rooms available in the homes of aging baby boomers. A new Trulia analysis analysis found evidence of 3.6 million unoccupied rooms in the nation's 100 largest housing markets. Then, Simons suggests the following.
For retired or soon-to-retire boomers, extra rooms are an opportunity to supplement income and offset cost-of-living increases – as much as an additional $14,000 a year. For many older Americans, renting a room provides an economic boost that may help them stay in a home longer.
For young adults, renting a room as opposed to a one-bedroom apartment could save them up to $24,000 annually.
FULL STORY: Boom-mates: How Empty Nesters Could Help Ease a Housing Shortage
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research