Senior Relocations Surge During Holiday Season

This holiday season has already seen a number of seniors seeking specialized movers as they downsize their longtime homes, according to an article from the Chicago Tribune.

The article notes an increasing demand for sons and daughters looking to help their parents move into more compact lifestyles during the holiday season, listing Gero Solutions as a leading facilitator for seniors’ needs.

The Tribune writes:

Advertisement

Gero Solutions is one of the more than 750 companies in the growing industry of senior move management, firms hired by older adults and their families to make the move from their longtime homes less stressful.

Occupancy at senior housing properties was at a four-year high of almost 90 percent at the end of September, nudged higher by a lack of new projects. But as the economy and the housing market slowly improve, new construction is anticipated, and it’s expected that seniors will again start thinking of downsizing voluntarily.

“We’ve seen it already,” said Mary kay Buysse, executive director of the National Association of Senior Move Managers, which formed 10 years ago with just 22 members. “It’s exploding even more. There’s going to be amazing movement.”

Advertisement

Frequently referred by senior living communities and real estate agents, move managers act as general contractors, hiring the movers and contacting the utility companies, sorting through belongings, sending extra possessions off to charities and facilitating the transition into a new, and likely smaller, home.

Read the full Chicago Tribune article.

Written by Jason Oliva

Companies featured in this article:

,