Life expectancy and the number of homes we own

I love listening to Public Radio every morning while I get ready to go to work.

Recently, I tuned in to Kara Miller’s Innovation Hub on WGBH. Kara was interviewing Andrew Scott, co-author of The 100-year life: Living and working in an Age of Longevity.

One of the main takeaways from their conversation was one astonishing fact that children born in wealthy countries since 2000 have got a more than 50 percent chance of living to 100.

To put things in perspective, less than a century ago, the lifespan for women in the U.S was 54 and for men a mere 50.

Our lifespan is directly tied to the number of homes we will own and live in during our lifetime.

Statistics show that most people purchase their starter home in their late 20’s. The next move usually correlates with marriage and children and gears towards schools, community and family living.

The third move takes place when the kids are all grown-up and empty nesters seek a smaller home to suit their golden years.

Andrew Scott indicates in his book that our longer lives are already transforming our society and that people are getting married later and having children later.

According to the author, the increased lifespan in the 20th already “led to the creation of two entirely new stages of life: the teenage years and retirement”.

Which brings me to my question – How will this influence the number of homes we own during our lifetime?

Will longer lifespan potentially create an additional step or two in which we purchase and sell before we settle down with the family or retire?

If we are to stay single later, marry later, have children later and retire later, there is a high probability that we will purchase and sell more homes in our lifetime. However, it is also possible that the initial stage prior to purchasing our first home will be extended and we will settle for moving from one rental to another during that time, pushing out the purchase of our first home to a later age.

These trends can greatly influence the housing market and the economy as a whole.

As for the prospect of living longer – when I shared the longevity prediction with my 14-year-old boy he shrugged and showed no interest. Aging and owning real estate are two subjects he has no interest discussing. Yet.