People debate the right for homeowning seniors to live in large family homes: 'If you're in your 70s and sitting on a 4 bedroom house, I think you should be disincentivized to holding onto it'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Jul 11, 2024 4:00 PM EDT

There is no denying that one way in which older generations had it a heck of a lot better than today's youth is that they had a lot more access to affordable homes. For many millennials and Gen Z, the idea of owning a property can seem like a lofty goal despite the fact that their parents and grandparents got on the ladder with relative ease. It's not a fun situation.

However, it's fair to say that many don't agree on how to fix the problems we have with housing. This was made apparent recently when one Twitter user made the controversial move of claiming that elderly people who live in bigger houses by themselves should all downsize. 

This take was met with widespread criticism, with some pointing out that there were more pressing reasons for the fact that younger generations were struggling with finding a place to live. Maybe it's time to be roommates with older relatives.

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    Connor @connordpeters Follow If you're in your 70s and sitting on a 4 bedroom house that you don't even occupy half of, I think you should be disincentivized to holding onto it If nothing else, take your profits while the bubble is still there and move into a smaller house? Lots of great townhouses
    via connordpeters
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    Tracey Wilson @TWilson Ottawa • 5d Replying to @connordpeters ... its none of your business.
    via TWilsonOttawa
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    Eva Kurilova @eva_kurilova • 5d Replying to @connordpeters It's funny that it doesn't occur to you that people have children and grandchildren.
    via eva_kurilova
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    GenXJen @GenXJenDen Replying to @connordpeters Follow Setting aside the wishful thinking and rosy view of the available stock for such moves to be made, you miss a key point that many of us with aging parents wrestle with. Home is more than housing; one day I hope you'll understand that. My mom was widowed in '21 after nearly 50 years of marriage that began in the home she still lives in. That roof and walls to you, is a lifetime of memories, and where she feels closest to the love of her life.
    via GenXJenDen
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    Jay Follow @BabblingIdjit Replying to @connordpeters Just so I've got this straight, are you telling us that seniors, after 25+ years of principal & interest payments, ever increasing property taxes &, most importantly, half a lifetime of memories, should be forced to give up the home they love & wish to grow old in? To fulfil some pie-in-the-sky notion of fairness? Pffft.
    via BabblingIdjit
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    Cloe @cloef • 5d Replying to @connordpeters They aren't going to save a cent selling their homes. They will have to buy a condo or rent an apartment which are extremely overinflated especially condo fees. It's much cheaper to stay in your paid for home even with taxes and maintenance costs. 19 1720 1.7K ili 72.9K Connor @connordpeters .5d ... or they could buy a smaller house
    via cloef
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    Mitch Kowalski @MEKowalski 5d Replying to @connordpeters Sorry, grandma, you're gonna have to sell the house. I know that you can afford it and that you've lived there for 30+ years, but Connor has said you gotta downsize. 16 1737 Connor 3.8K ili 97.4K @connordpeters - 5d More like "hey grandma we know you can't drive anymore or go down into the basement, why don't you get a house that better suits your needs"
    via MEKowalski
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    Susan Waters @sqalid2001.5d Replying to @connordpeters If you are in your 70s and own your own home the thought of packing up and moving is so stressful that most of us avoid it! We should move to make life easier for you? How about honouring all our sacrifices to enable you to be where you are today? 15 1710 Connor 658 ili 39.5K ☐ ∞ • @connordpeters ⚫ 5d If your house is worth $700,000 and you have no mortgage, paying movers a couple hundred bucks really isn't that crazy
    via sqalid2001
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    Dr. Dad, PhD A @GarrettPetersen Replying to @connordpeters Follow If we just built more homes, this wouldn't be a dilemma.
    via GarrettPetersen
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    Ren @Scorpio_Karen18 .4d Replying to @connordpeters Is anyone surprised that Connor is a millennial?
    via Scorpio_Karen18
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    Mrs. P@smalltown_wife • 3d . my parents are in their early 70s and "sitting" on a 5-bedroom house that's been paid off for years. why would they want a townhouse when they're able-bodied and love having a big yard and space for the grandkids to play? they can do as they dang well please, mind your business
    via smalltown_wife
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    The Madwoman in th... @heymrsbond Follow White people are so weird, no matter where they come from We should incentivize multigenerational home sharing and community care so younger folks have a place to live and older folks have people helping them.
    via heymrsbond
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    Dr. Mia Brett @Queen Mab87 .4d My mother is still living in our home. She probably needs do downsize. But she's lost her mother and husband in the past 2 years. When she looks out the window she sees the garden she built w/ my father. This tweet is cruel
    via QueenMab87
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    • nicholas@namastaylit 3d the old lady at the end of the block is not the reason you cant buy a house Imfao this is such a thoughtless and useless tweet EXHIBIT 7A Overall investor share of purchase market 40% 35% 30% 25% чин wwww 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Source: Freddie Mac Economics & Housing Research estimates based on public records data. Small Investor 1-9 properties, Mid-sized 10-99 properties, and Institutional = 100+ properties purchased in the past 12 months. We i
    via namastaylit
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    CEO of Beck3tt M@riner @kari_izumi Follow The housing problem isn't seniors who lived in their homes for 40 years but greedy developers sitting on vacant lots and buy up homes en masse to raise rents forever
    via kari_izumi
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    Martha Kelly @MarthaKelly3 4d Honestly sometimes I wonder if people like this think aging is a choice. They certainly think older people have diminished value and should have fewer rights.
    via MarthaKelly3
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    Mikki Kendall @Karnythia 4d Accessibility called...lots of seniors don't downsize because those new build townhouses popping up like ugly weeds aren't designed for anyone that needs mobility aids.
    via Karnythia
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    joanna schroeder @iproposethis ⚫ 3d To be clear, if older folks are selling their homes right now, it's going to be developers, hotel conglomerates, real estate corporations and wealthy people with all-cash offers buying them - not hard-working Millennials or families like we fantasize about.
    via iproposethis

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