DENVER (CBS4) – As the Colorado housing market rebounds, baby boomers are becoming a key player.
Housing prices are up, and interest rates are low which makes this the perfect time for many baby boomers to sell those big houses they raised their families in and downsize into much smaller homes. And in Denver, one new trend among baby boomers is moving downtown.
Cindy and her husband, Cisco Uribe are among those empty-nesters who are giving up life in the suburbs for a new lifestyle downtown.
“We went from a big kitchen to a little galley kitchen,” Cisco says as he shows CBS4 around the couple’s new condo in Brooks Tower in downtown Denver.
The condominium is 600 square feet, which is roughly one-sixth the size of the home they used to own in Thornton. Everything is smaller in the condo, including a cabin bedroom and closet space. They went from having three bathrooms to having just one.
The couple bought the condo fully furnished, so all they brought with them is some clothes and personal items. The rest of their stuff they sold or put into storage.
“It feels a lot lighter … and easier,” Cindy told CBS4.
“I feel younger,” Cisco added.
In many cases baby boomers are making changes that maximize their enjoyment of life, including completely changing their lifestyle for the second half of their life.
“This is a very optimistic generation. Fully two-thirds feel that the best of life for them is ahead, not behind them,” said Brent Green, a generational marketing expert and president of Brent Green & Associates, Inc.
The Uribes are looking toward retirement and feel like a simpler life in Downtown Denver is better for them. Their real estate agent is looking to the future, too, and says more inventory is needed in downtown Denver to accommodate this baby boomer trend.
“The more that you can provide on the ground, something that they can purchase and continue to hold that equity, the more they like it,” said Mark Trenka of Trenka & Associates Real Estate.
Baby boomers are used to owning their homes, so the abundance of rental properties in downtown Denver would be less attractive to them. Trenka hopes to see the condominium market expand downtown.
- Written for CBSDenver.com by CBS4 Special Projects Producer Libby Smith
