Retirement is one of those things that can be filed in the “It comes faster than you think” category along with things like children growing up and going away to college or reaching the bottom of the bag of chips. The fact is that retirement isn’t much of a problem if you are someone that has prepared for it and has been saving for it for the majority of your adult life. But if that hasn’t been the case, the idea of retirement might seem pretty scary to some and downright impossible to others.
Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of homeowners who are at least 55-years-old feel confident that they will be financially comfortable in retirement, according to results form a recently released Freddie Mac survey. In total, 76 percent of homeowners over the age of 55 are confident with their finances come retirement. Which means that homeownership as a long-term investment appears to work, says Dave Lowman, the Executive Vice President of Single-Family Business at Freddie Mac.
Additionally, 40 percent of current homeowners 55 or over said they would like to move at least one more time and of that 40 percent, 70 percent said they are likely to purchase their next home. Those who do not wish to move again, and instead would like to stay in their current homes, highlight a growing trend of aging-in-place.
With so many Baby Boomers planning to purchase another home or make renovations on their current homes, they will remain a very important group to watch because they hold almost two-thirds of the country’s home equity, approximately $8 trillion.
In case you are thinking one demographic may have skewed the results and the 76 percent of homeowners who are confident in their retirement finances may be a bit inflated, every demographic group surveyed shared the confidence of the overall group. Blacks (77 percent), Hispanics (64 percent), Asians (80 percent), homeowners who are currently working (74 percent), and homeowners earning less than $30,000 (55 percent) are all more confident than not in their finances upon retirement.
To view the full results of the Freddie Mac survey, click the link below.
