Happy Monday! Let’s jump right into those mature marketing stories of the week that had people talking around the water coolers. This week’s focus is all about housing. Have something to add? Please note in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.
MOST CLICKED: Don’t blame the Millennials for housing market woes. At least that is the sentiment in a recent article in Market Watch. The article is based on new housing purchase insights released by Zillow. Many homeowners are suffering from negative equity issues, which are preventing them from putting their current homes on the market. This is especially the case for Millennials and Gen Xers, with the number of underwater homes for these cohorts nearly twice that of baby boomers. 
While boomers may not be as impacted directly by negative equity, they are still feeling the effects. Those boomers who want to sell homes and downsize are unable to find buyers, as Gen Xers and Millennials aren’t in a position to want to upgrade to a larger home.
According to the director of UCLA’s Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate:
Many millennials don’t have the resources to compete with cash offers or engage in bidding wars with older buyers, he adds. “The reality is, negative equity is part of the new normal, and finding creative solutions to keeping homes affordable, available and accessible to this generation will be critical,” he says.
There is good news, however, the article concludes: as home prices rise the negative equity issues decrease.
MOST SHARED: An article referencing the recent report “Housing America’s Older Adults – Meeting the Needs of an Aging Population” discussed the current housing shortage for seniors. Specifically, that there are not enough affordable options that offer senior-friendly accessibility and are well-located.
Some points of the report included:
* 1/3 of boomers and beyond spend more than 30% of their income on housing, which could make it difficult if additional care/support is required as they age.
Younger baby boomers, those now in their 50s, are of special concern, since they’re less financially secure than generations past — thanks to the Great Recession, according to the report. This is a group of people with lower incomes, wealth and home ownership rates, who may struggle to afford housing and long-term care in retirement.
*Most seniors’ homes don’t have accessibility features to help them as they age, including no-step entries and single-floor living. This makes either substantial renovations or moving required.
*For many seniors there is a lack of amenities within close proximity to their current homes. This is especially important as people become unable to drive and require easy access to nearby health-care and opportunities to remain socially active.
Click here to read the full article.