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After the boom: Small-town boomers squeezed out of shifting real estate market

'In a more rural area, the typical rules of real estate don't necessarily apply.'

A sign advertising a home for sale at a reduced price is shown in Pacifica, California December 31, 2008. House prices in the area dropped again in October, local media reported on Tuesday. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

With so many cranes dominating the skylines of Vancouver and Toronto, finding homes for baby boomers to downsize into isn’t considered an issue.

Given the condo build (or some would argue overbuild) in those cities, there should be a lot of choice for retirees as they give up their monster homes for smaller, more convenient and lower-maintenance living spaces.

But what about in small towns across the country where retirees are heading to get away from the noise and congestion?

Statistics Canada says more people aged 65 and older are moving to small towns. Then there are those already living in rural communities who also want to shed the four-bedroom, two-car garage properties for smaller homes now that their kids have moved out.

But faced with declining populations, those accustomed to wide-open spaces in small towns are having trouble selling their big homes, especially with more young families moving to urban centres.

It’s a growing dilemma for baby boomers in small towns across Canada: Not enough people interested in buying their larger homes, and not enough smaller ones to move into.

“It’s a standoff,” says Martin Denis Sarkissian, a real estate agent in Brantford, Ont., about 100 km west of Toronto. “These are people in their baby boomers years who have been in their house forever. They want to go to an apartment or something smaller, but there’s nothing there.”

In many small towns, the apartment buildings that are available are run down due to lack of interest or may be located in less desirable neighbourhoods.

Brantford is one of those communities that thrived when the manufacturing industry was stronger in Ontario, but has suffered from stagnant population growth and little new money entering the community to help boost its economy.

For families that stuck around, children have moved out and their aging parents are left with homes larger than they need. Sarkissian says some are converting their homes into duplexes or building “in-law” suites to make better use of their space, and a few bucks on the side.

Still, he says there’s a growing need for development of smaller, one-level homes that would better suit the aging population.

The lack of desirable housing for baby boomers in small towns is also impacting families who are looking for more space in these communities.

These are people in their baby boomers years who have been in their house forever. They want to go to an apartment or something smaller, but there’s nothing there.

— Brantford real estate agent Martin Denis Sarkissian

Chris Robertson recently moved from Halifax to Sydney, N.S. to start up Home Instead Senior Care, a caregiver business catering to the area’s aging population.

While searching to buy a house for his family, Robertson discovered the market was tight since a lot of seniors that wanted to move weren’t selling. Either they couldn’t find a proper home to move into, or they weren’t getting the price they wanted, and weren’t prepared to budge, no matter how long the property sat on the market. For many, the proceeds represent their retirement income.

“Sometimes, in a more rural area, the typical rules of real estate don't necessarily apply,” says Robertson. “Regardless of the market dynamics a seller holds out for a certain price. We do have to respect that.”

There are also increasingly popular small town destinations in places like Vancouver Island and British Columbia’s Okanagan region where more seniors are moving to from large urban centres. These hot spots boast a wide-range of real estate options geared towards those looking to offload their larger properties for less square footage.

In 2011, seven of the 10 municipalities with the highest proportion of seniors were in British Columbia, according to StatsCan. In Qualicum Beach, in the Parksville region on Vancouver Island, 47 per cent of the population were seniors.

Aaron Nicklen, a real estate agent with Coast Realty Group in Qualicum Beach, says the community is geared to retirement living, with its beaches and seven golf courses.

He says there are enough homes for baby boomers to purchase following a building boom during 2007-08.

When the recession hit, some of those home sat empty. However, demand has since picked up alongside an aging demographic and moderating home prices.

“Prices have dropped and demand is increasing,” he says.

Nicklen says homes are being scooped up by the growing number of older people moving from places as Saskatchewan, Alberta and other parts of B.C., many of whom are looking for a better climate or a second home in their golden years.