Real Estate

Owning your home after years of sweating to pay off the bank is sweet. But is it a good idea to stay in that home throughout your retirement? Many retirees elect to downsize, buying a smaller home or condo. Some are renting and investing the money they receive from selling their home, or avoiding homeownership altogether.

“I am a 75-year-old woman who rents a two-bedroom apartment in a four-unit apartment building,” says Emily Kimball, motivational speaker and owner of The Aging Adventurer in Richmond, Va. “I feel much more comfortable paying rent and having their handyman come and solve my maintenance problems. I have assets but they are for future health problems or more travel and adventure.”

Some people are thinking that it may be a good time to buy into a second home rather then purchasing your primary home. The nation’s second home market seems to be repelling investors in waves and the blow is so crushing to the second home market that the nation’s primary housing market downturn pales by comparison. Second home sales fell last year, falling 18.56 percent to 2.72 million, compared to 3.34 million in 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors’ annual “Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey”.