Since I am “officially” referred to as a Baby Boomer, I can speak from a personal perspective. Since Wilmington, NC has been touted as one of the best places to retire in the Southeast, it’s only natural to expect an onslaught of Baby Boomers heading our direction. There are over 50 million of us now!

A typical Baby Boomer is going to be from 55 years old to 70 years old and either retired or knocking on its doorstep. We are the generation spawned in the 1950’s and raised in the radical days of the 1960’s and 1970’s. We were raised on television and very idealistic and involved! After all, we were at the forefront of peace marches, rallies during our college years.

Most baby boomers are creative and entrepreneurial so we can be a pretentious. After all, we were known as the “Me” generation.

Baby Boomers are typically well educated and independent thinkers. Finding the perfect home for a Baby Boomer will take some thought since we will ask a lot of questions and most likely already know a lot of the answers. We want to feel important and we think outside of the box. Give us the statistics on the neighborhood.

Since our kids are grown up and we are most likely grandparents, school districts aren’t as crucial but resale is always going to be on our minds. Value for our money was a lesson we didn’t really learn early on, but we will want to correct our wonton ways in purchasing the house we will most likely spend our “golden years”. 

Size of our home will probably be in the 2,000 to 2,500 square foot and we will want the extras such as granite counters in our gourmet kitchens, fireplaces in our living rooms, decks and patios for outdoor living and probably small yard areas. No sense in spending our free time mowing yards! And we will have plenty of time for cooking and entertaining….Our primary focus will be on lifestyle and quality of life. We are sensitive to safety and security, so gated communities might be a good choice! Golf courses, swimming pools, tennis courts, and walking trails will be important.

Baby Boomers will want to be called three or four times a year if they’re looking down the road. Create an individual home buying plan for them. They’ll appreciate the attention and will want to keep in touch with their “agent”.  We will pay more for good service-send us market reports and local information. Since we are still adjusting to the tech world, a lot of us still use stamps and envelopes.

 

Dee Pearce, BlueCoast Broker/REALTOR

910-524-1092