How Adding Aging in Place Features to Your Home Can Increase Your Property Value

Contributed by Matt Lee

Thanks to technology changing the traditional workplace and continued advances in medicine, many Americans are retiring earlier and seeing extended life expectancies, creating a longer retirement period for millions of people.

Another consideration is that many retirees have a general reluctance toward living in retirement communities--an aversion that has been strongly solidified in the COVID-19 era, as the deadly virus has made many well-publicized rampages through such facilities.

The combination of these factors presents a strong market for properties that are equipped with aging in place features, with the following points demonstrating how homes constructed with seniors in mind can be highly coveted on the market.

1. Aging in Place Features Can Enhance Accessibility

To pull an example from the literary classic David Copperfield, when the enchanting Dora became too infirm to go up and down the stairs of their little cottage, her chair in the drawing room was left conspicuously empty for the lonely David to consider each evening.

Unfortunately, Dora is not an exception, and the effects of age will leave everyone less mobile than they were in their youth, so aging in place features can help ensure that residents have full access to their homes despite any injuries and illness that pop up over time.

In terms of value, another way to think about it is this: if buyers are generally willing to pay more for homes with more square footage, then having parts of the home that are inaccessible effectively reduces the square footage of your home, lowering the price buyers will be willing to pay.

Therefore, renovations that can help ensure full access to your home by people of all physical conditions will be attractive to a much broader market, and when demand is high, price can be increased. Some ideas include:

• Adding customizable handrails to all staircases, bathrooms, and kitchen spaces
• Installing a lift or elevator in multi-level homes and properties with basements
• Creating ramps leading to the entrances of your home
• Replacing carpet with harder options that allow for ease of movement of wheelchairs and medical devices, looking for finishes that will minimize slipping

2. Aging in Place Features Can Improve the Safety of Your Home

People are willing to spend money for safety and peace of mind. Think of the amount of money spent on insurance and advanced safety features in modern automobiles if you need any confirmation of this.

This mindset applies to homes, too, and becomes even more acute as people age and are more likely to suffer an at-home accident. In addition to the railings and no-slip flooring listed in the previous section, there are other value-adding safety features that you can add to your property that will speak to an aging market, such as:

• Shower seats and bathtub gates to decrease the likelihood of falling in the bathroom
• Radiant floor heating to help control a stable interior temperature and limit the chances of catching cold in the winter
• Comprehensive window blinds and home alarm systems to help residents feel safe at night
• Motion-detected and remote control lights to limit going back-and-forth to the light switch
• Shallow kitchen sinks to reduce the amount residents have to bend, reach, and lift heavy cookware items

3. Aging in Place Features Can Increase Your Home’s Functionality

In addition to paying more for more square footage, buyers are willing to pay more for space that is highly functional and readily available to use. Some renovations to consider to increase functionality for those looking to age in place include:

• Downsizing the kitchen, or remodeling the kitchen in such a way that fewer steps need to be taken when preparing a meal. Look into the most durable countertops that feature a nonporous fabrication to reduce the effort necessary for cleaning
• Adding a sidewalk or stone path to a large backyard so that residents can enjoy more area without having to get into the grass
• Finishing the basement or completing an add-on as a type of hobby room so residents do not have to go out as often for recreation

Conclusion

With many Americans increasingly enjoying longer retirement periods than their predecessors, there is a potentially huge market for housing that meets the needs of an older demographic. Aging in place features can improve the accessibility, safety, and functionality of a home for people of all physical conditions, helping your property appeal to a larger market and command maximum value when listed.

Matt Lee is the owner of the Innovative Building Materials blog and a content writer for the building materials industry. He is focused on helping fellow homeowners, contractors, and architects discover materials and methods of construction that save money, improve energy efficiency, and increase property value.

At Greenwald & Gerke, we are committed to providing our clients with personalized solutions for their desired lifestyles. If you need real estate services for retirement, then contact us to learn more about the full-service solutions we offer: (844) 782-9674.