Baby boomers are planning to retire at an earlier age, but they want their next home in retirement to be near their grandchildren with the number one home feature being a multi-car garage with plenty of storage, according to the latest Del Webb Baby Boomer Survey.

Sponsored by PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM), the Del Webb Baby Boomer Survey explored home buying habits of the 55+ buyer. The Company has conducted more than 11 Baby Boomer surveys since 1996. Historic data shows that the age at which baby boomers expect to retire lowered from 65 in 2013 to 63.7 in the 2017 survey. When asked when they would consider purchasing a home, 38% of baby boomers indicated it would be within the next three years, with 11% looking to purchase within the year. This was primarily driven by retirement (39%), followed by the need to downsize (33%), and the desire to move to a better location (30%).

“Retirement marks a new phase in a baby boomer’s life, and it only seems natural to relocate or move to a new home when transitioning away from their primary career, or from the day-to-day rearing of school aged children,” said Jay Mason, vice president of market intelligence for PulteGroup. “Whether they are selling the homes where they raised their children and heading to sunnier pastures, or staying near their hometown, it’s not surprising that the 55+ buyer wants a variety of options and choices in their homes.

Highlights of this year’s survey results:

  • 39% of baby boomers indicate retirement is the primary reason for purchasing their next home
  • 11% of baby boomers are looking to buy their next home within the year
  • Florida remains a top destination for retirement, followed by Arizona and the Carolinas
  • The top three community amenities that baby boomers want in their next home’s location: grandkids, access to water and plenty of park/open space
  • Cost of living is the top consideration for the location of baby boomer’s next homes in retirement
  • Baby boomers expect to retire at the age of 63.7 – a decrease from 65 years of age last surveyed in 2013

For today’s 80 million boomers, the choices vary on where to spend their retirement years. Some choose to retire in place, potentially, near family and grandchildren with 26% wanting to be in the same city they currently live and 34% moving within the same state, but a different city/town. Alternatively, some consumers seek warmer climates such as those found in Arizona and Florida with 38% of boomers wanting to move to a different state.

According to the survey, 28% indicated that Florida is their preferred destination for retirement, followed Arizona (11%), Carolinas (9%), Texas (7%) and California (5%). PulteGroup and Del Webb currently have 50+ communities open for sales throughout the country.

When asked about their must-have features in their next home in retirement, baby boomers indicated the top five are: multi-car garage with storage, open deck or patio, open floor plan, eat-in kitchen and small, private yard.

Additionally, 30% of baby boomers ranked grandchildren as the number one community amenity they want within walking distance of their next home, followed by access to water – a beach, river or lake (24%) and park or green open space (20%).

“Having grandchildren nearby was a surprise as previous Del Webb surveys have shown that having grandchildren nearby in retirement wasn’t a priority,” says Mason. “The desire to nurture the grandchildren-to-grandparent connection appears to be strengthening between baby boomers and the millennial generation, who also have a strong desire to be near aging parents.”

Among Baby Boomers looking to move, the most important factors in deciding where to relocate weighed heavily towards an area’s cost of living and access to preferred healthcare programs, 82% and 74% - these two factors have maintained their status as the most important factors throughout all the Del Webb surveys.

The survey was conducted online by Russell Research from February 8 - 13, 2017 among 2,071 adults, comprised of 1,028 Millennials between the ages of 22-36 and 1,043 Baby Boomers between the ages of 50-65, with all survey respondents indicating they intend to purchase a new home in the next 10 years. At a 95% confidence level, a margin of sample error of +/- 3.1% applies to each generation in the sample. Figures for gender and geography were weighted where necessary to match their actual proportions in the population.