Millions of baby boomers will retire over the next decade. For many of them, retirement will involve moving somewhere new.
Realtor.com recently released a list ranking the least and most expensive cities to retire in the United States. It found San Luis Obispo is the most expensive retirement spot in the country. According to the realty website, the median home list price is $729,600. Just about a quarter of the population is aged 60+. Even though it’s an expensive place to buy a home, experts say a lot of people are still flocking to the area during retirement. Realtors say it’s not uncommon for people to sell a home in a more expensive market like the Bay Area and then move to the Central Coast.
Rounding out the top five for the most expensive places to retire were Santa Rosa, Santa Fe, NM, Barnstable Town, MA, and Naples, FL.
Realtor.com says the least expensive place to live is Sebring, Florida. The median home list price is $180,100, and people ages 60+ make up more than 40% of the population. Rounding out the top five for the least expensive places to retire were Sierra Vista, AZ, Ocala, FL, New Bern, NC, and Homosassa Springs, FL.
The website looked at the 500 largest metropolitan statistical areas to come up with the list. It focused on areas where at least a quarter of the population was close to retirement age. After narrowing down the list, the website looked at how much it would cost to pay down a 15-year mortgage on a median-priced home in each market.
The website says because the Boomer generation is so massive, boomers could have a huge impact on the nation’s housing market, depending on where they decide to retire.
To read the full study, click here.
