Finally, some builders are paying attention to the needs of seniors and “boomers”.  CLICK HERE for the Yahoo® Finance article where builders are now starting to build smaller cottage homes for seniors or those wanting to “down size”.  Now, if only the builders in Portland, Oregon would stop building those “McMansions”. Seniors will be the largest segment of the population and yet builders fail to recognize that many “boomers” and seniors don’t want big houses.

These builders in the article think small in a way that is practically un-American. They build tract houses that are half the size of the average U.S. home but do, unfortunately, cost a lot more per square foot. What is surprising is how quickly they sell them. Builders are building their fortunes with buyers willing to pay more for less. Customers say they prefer taking up less room and using less energy.

There is a cottage builder in Shoreline, Washington building houses from 800-1600 sq. ft.  The homes are pricey and geared to those that want to down-size and want eco-friendly houses.  The houses are also what seniors and boomers are wanting.  The Certified-Aging-In-Place Specialists (CAPS) has a laundry list of what seniors are looking for.  CLICK HERE to view.  Here’s yet another link showing how housing has changed over the last 70 years.

This past Thursday I was part of a 13-house progressive Realtors’® tour in Lake Oswego.  The couples that came through were all empty-nesters or retirees, wanting to down-size.  Some would love a higher-end, one-level home without stairs.  Again, they are hard to find in our area.  They’re looking for smaller,  senior-friendly homes but there are very few.  When a quality one-level home does come on the market in Lake Oswego, it usually sells before it even hits our RMLS™ (MLS).  Wouldn’t it be great to have a builder in our local area have the vision and “guts” to go against the grain and build the kind of houses mentioned above here in Portland?

***UPDATE 10/26/08*** I had a link to a video at MarketWatch but see is no longer working.  I am trying to find out if the web address has changed to re-link it.  However, in the meantime, I also found this information that might prove helpful and this as well on the communities discussed above. 

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