For decades, retirement came with a familiar housing script: sell the family home, downsize, and simplify. While many baby boomers still choose to remain in place or move into smaller homes, a growing number are taking a different path and purchasing larger homes instead.
"Traditionally, it was you retire from your job, and you immediately sold your family house because your kids were gone, and you moved down to a three- or four-bedroom house on a golf course in Florida. And that narrative doesn't necessarily suit today's retirees," says Peter Dennehy, principal, home building with Zonda and expert on 55-plus housing.
This trend isn’t new. Merrill Lynch and Age Wave's 2015 report, Home in Retirement: More Freedom, New Choices, found that in their survey of recent retirees, three in 10 had moved to a larger home, while nearly one in five relocated to a home roughly the same size.
More than a decade later, attitudes toward retirement continue to reflect that shift. According to Age Wave's 2023 study, The New Age of Aging, 71% of adults aged 65 and older believe the best years of their lives are either happening now or still ahead of them.
Rather than viewing retirement as a period of scaling back, many older adults increasingly see it as an opportunity to shape the next life chapter on their own terms.
What's Behind the Shift to Bigger Homes?
A combination of factors is driving that shift. Many homeowners have built significant home equity over the past several years, retirement looks different than it did for previous generations, and family considerations are playing a larger role in housing decisions.
"It's obviously a trend for people that have the resources to upsize rather than downsize. And I think it's important to always say today's retirees really come in all flavors,” Dennehy says. “I don't know that we want to emphasize that every boomer or every retiring person has all the cash in the world to do that. But a lot of people do because they have benefited from home equity buildup over the last five or six years. Since the pandemic, they've saved up their money.”
According to federal data from the Census Bureau's Housing Vacancy Survey:
The overall U.S. homeownership rate was 65% in the second quarter of 2026.
Among adults ages 55 to 64, it was 75.1%.
For adults age 65 and older, it was 78.6%.
Older Americans also control a significant share of household wealth. Federal Reserve data shows:
Americans ages 55 to 69 held 41.2% of U.S. household wealth in the first quarter of 2026.
Adults aged 70 and older controlled another 32.7%.
For these homeowners, financial flexibility creates more choices.
Instead of asking what they can afford, some are considering where they want to live, how often they entertain, whether they plan to host family, and what kind of home will support their lifestyle in the years ahead.
Making Room for Family
While financial resources may make a move possible, family is often a key motivator.
Dennehy says many baby boomers remain deeply involved in the lives of their children and grandchildren. Zonda surveys show that roughly one-quarter of boomers plan to retire near their children or grandchildren, a trend monitored through the company's Baby Chaser Index.
Moving closer to family can shape both where retirees live and the type of home they choose. Rather than seeking the smallest home possible, many buyers want space that can accommodate visiting relatives, overnight guests, and changing family dynamics.
In some cases, those evolving family needs extend beyond occasional visits.
Multigenerational living has become increasingly common in recent years. According to Generations United, a national nonprofit and leading authority on multigenerational living, 26% of Americans lived in a multigenerational household in 2021, up from 7% in 2011.
Kristen Kiefer, executive director of Generations United, says that trend is reshaping housing decisions for many older adults.
"For many older adults, the decision is no longer simply about downsizing or remaining in the family home," Kiefer says. "It is increasingly about choosing housing that can adapt to changing needs, relationships, and responsibilities across generations."
Kiefer says Generation United's Healthier Lives Across Generations: A Blueprint for Intergenerational Living found that families increasingly prioritize homes that are safe, accessible, affordable, and connected to community resources and support networks.
Those needs can take many forms. Some retirees want space for adult children facing housing affordability challenges, while others are planning for grandchildren, aging relatives, or future caregiving responsibilities. Others are looking for ways to live closer to family without necessarily sharing the same household.
Building Flexibility Into the Next Chapter
For many boomers, the goal is not simply more square footage: it's flexibility. Dennehy says many boomers who move are looking for homes that support aging in place while accommodating family and lifestyle priorities.
Kiefer adds that the most successful homes balance togetherness with independence, allowing family members to remain connected while maintaining privacy and autonomy.
Important features for both aging in place and balancing connection with independence include:
First-floor bedrooms and bathrooms
Flexible rooms that can serve different purposes over time
Separate or semi-private living areas
Accessory dwelling units, connected suites, or separate entrances
Adaptable bathrooms and accessible entrances
Generous storage space
Gathering areas that accommodate different ages and abilities
The Home Designs Gaining Popularity
The growing demand for these features is showing up in home designs on Houseplans.com, an online marketplace for professionally pre-drawn architectural blueprints, floor plans, and home designs.
According to Houseplans.com, demand for home designs that prioritize long-term flexibility has increased in recent years:
Accessibility/aging-in-place plans grew from 10.3% of plans sold in 2019 to 20.5% in 2026 year to date (YTD).
Multigenerational plans rose from 4% to 12.2% over the same period.
The specific features buyers are seeking tell a similar story:
First-floor primary suites rose from 58.6% of plans sold in 2019 to 68.4% in 2026 YTD.
Main-floor bed-and-bath layouts increased from 39.7% to 54.9%.
Guest suites nearly tripled from 3.9% to 11%.
These trends don't mean most retirees are abandoning downsizing. Rather, they highlight how housing priorities are evolving.
For some boomers, retirement is less about reducing square footage and more about finding a home that supports the life they want to live, whether that means staying close to family, creating space for guests, or preparing for the years ahead.
