Another study says Baby Boomers aren't moving

We talked a couple weeks ago about a study showing Baby Boomers say they plan to stay in their homes and the effects this may have on the housing market. Another study, this one by Merrill Lynch, seems to corroborate those results.

The survey showed people 65 and older will account for more growth in the housing market over the next decade than any other demographic group. Sixty-four% of respondents said they are likely to move at least once during retirement, and 37% already have done so.

What's more, they aren't necessarily downsizing. Roughly one-third said their last move was to a larger home, and another 19% moved to a similarly-sized home.

The motivations driving these trends seem to be a desire to house visiting family members and a desire to age in place. Eighty-five% percent of respondents said they want to receive extended healthcare in their homes. This correlates with recent declines in nursing home residents. More than half of respondents said they already had renovated their homes to add features to allow them to age in place.

As with the previous survey, the results call into question the conventional wisdom that aging homeowners should be freeing up existing housing stock for younger buyers and suggest a continued tight supply of existing homes for sale.