A map in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal depicting “senior migration” provides a stark reminder that baby boomers are moving south, predicting rises in real estate prices below the Mason-Dixon line and softening of real estate values in areas like New England and the upper Midwest. Those on the cusp of retirement and thinking about relocation to a warmer climate will find they have plenty of company. And if supply of homes can’t keep up with demand, there could be the potential for boomers bidding for the choicest properties in the most popular areas.
Yes, I know, I am in the business of helping baby boomers (and others) find properties for vacation and retirement in southern golf communities; therefore, I can be accused of having an interest in encouraging folks to move sooner rather than later. Guilty, as charged. But the numbers don’t lie, and according to the WSJ’s map, the net migration into the Carolinas each year between 2009 and 2012 has been more than 10,000, and into Florida more than 50,000. (And you thought Florida was dead.) All other southeastern states except for Virginia saw net in-flows of seniors (aged 55 and older) whereas Delaware, Vermont and New Hampshire saw tiny increases (about 500 annually) of the same population.
