A Generation Driving the Change
The baby boomer cohort, born between 1946 and 1964, is now well into retirement age, and the number of U.S. adults aged 65 and older reached about 61 million in 2024. That is a demographic force unlike anything the housing market has absorbed in recent decades. This group represents roughly 18 percent of the population, up from just 12 percent two decades ago, and by 2030 the share will approach one in five Americans.
The oldest baby boomers turn 80 in 2026, which pushes questions about home accessibility from the abstract to the immediate. For millions of households, the search for a retirement home is happening right now, and single-story layouts are moving to the top of the checklist.
Why Stairs Have Become a Deal Breaker
Over half of adults 50 and older say they need a home that supports independent aging, according to AARP’s national 2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey. Stairs are among the first features they want to eliminate. A main-floor bedroom and bathroom are the top two features older adults want, with the vast majority citing them as essential.
The concern isn’t vanity. Falls remain one of the leading causes of injury among older adults, and stairs represent the most obvious structural risk inside the home. The preference for single-story living is, at its core, a safety calculation made years in advance.
The Stunning Accessibility Gap in Existing Homes
Only one percent of homes in the United States have five key accessibility features: a zero-step entrance, single-story living, wide doorways and halls, lever-style handles, and electrical controls accessible from a wheelchair. That figure is striking. It means the overwhelming majority of retirees who want to age in place are living in homes that simply weren’t designed for it.
Many of the homes in which older adults currently live were constructed decades ago and lack features that help ensure accessibility and long-term residency. This mismatch between the existing housing stock and what retirees actually need is a central reason so many are now actively house-hunting for a different type of home rather than simply staying put.
Most Retirees Want to Stay in Their Communities
AARP’s 2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey found that 75 percent of adults aged 50 and older wish to remain in their current homes as they age, and 73 percent hope to stay in their communities. These figures are significantly higher than those recorded among younger adults. More than seven in ten older adults would prefer to remain in their communities as they age.
Despite that strong preference, 44 percent of those surveyed expect they will have to move for various reasons. That group is actively searching, and single-story homes near familiar neighborhoods, medical facilities, and social networks rank high on their priority lists.
New Construction Is Responding
Nationwide, the share of new homes with two or more stories fell from 52.5 percent in 2024 to 51.4 percent in 2025, while the share of new homes with one story rose from 47.5 percent to 48.6 percent, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders citing the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction. The gap is narrowing steadily. In the Pacific division alone, the single-story share has increased in seven of the last eight years, climbing from 32.7 percent in 2017 to 47.5 percent in 2025.
New homes started in the Midwest and the South generally favor single-story designs, while the Northeast and the West have historically seen higher shares of two or more stories. That regional pattern matters for retirees relocating from high-cost, multi-story markets in the Northeast toward Sun Belt states, where accessible, single-level layouts are far more common.
The Supply Crunch That Complicates Everything
Demand for senior housing continues to climb to record levels, but year-over-year inventory growth in 2025 was just one percent, the lowest since NIC began tracking this data in 2006. Even retirees willing to move are finding thin pickings. Baby boomers moved into senior housing in record numbers, and for every ten new units that opened in any given market, 31 were occupied and absorbed.
That absorption gap has consequences. Prices for accessible single-story homes in desirable retirement markets are rising faster than the broader market, and competition for well-located, one-level properties has intensified noticeably in states like Florida, Arizona, and the Carolinas.
Home Modifications as a Parallel Strategy
AARP’s data shows that 43 percent of adults age 50 and older believe their current homes would need modifications to make them safe and accessible, and the national average cost for adapting a home for aging in place runs from around three thousand to fifteen thousand dollars. For those who can’t find or afford a purpose-built single-story home, retrofitting becomes the alternative. Of the biggest concerns, 72 percent expect bathroom modifications such as grip handles, 71 percent anticipate changes to improve access into and around the house, and 64 percent think they may need to install a medical emergency response system.
Modifications help but they rarely replicate what a genuinely accessible single-story home offers from the start. Many retirees who have gone through the renovation process describe it as costly, disruptive, and often incomplete. The preference for buying right the first time is growing as a result.
What Builders Are Actually Delivering
Developers are building larger units for residents downsizing from large single-family homes and smaller units for those most focused on value. Active adult communities, many of which are entirely single-story, have grown significantly as a category. The active adults 55-plus community segment dominated the senior living market with a revenue share of roughly 70 percent in 2025.
As the baby boomer generation ages, many individuals are looking for housing options that reduce the burdens associated with traditional homeownership, such as yard work and home repairs, while seeking environments that promote community and social engagement. Builders who understand this dynamic are designing communities where low-maintenance, single-level living comes bundled with walkable amenities and social programming.
The Middle-Income Retiree’s Dilemma
While there is significant wealth across the boomer population, there is also a large middle-market, and it is projected that in 2033, middle-income seniors will comprise roughly 44 percent of all older adult households in the United States. These buyers want accessible, single-story homes but often can’t compete at the price points where most new accessible construction is concentrated. Affordability for middle-income seniors remains one of the industry’s most pressing unresolved challenges.
The result is a two-tier market. Wealthier retirees move into purpose-built active adult communities with every accessibility feature included. Middle-income buyers are left hunting an existing housing stock that, as the AARP data makes clear, offers almost nothing designed for aging in place.
Occupancy Pressure and What It Means for House-Hunters
The senior housing sector has demonstrated sustained momentum, with occupancy improving for 18 consecutive quarters and reaching 89.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025. Supply simply hasn’t kept pace. NIC expects that limited new supply, coupled with steady demand growth, will drive the average senior housing occupancy rate above 90 percent in 2026, potentially reaching the highest occupancy rate recorded in the 20 years that NIC MAP has tracked this data.
For retirees actively searching for single-story homes, this environment demands lead time and flexibility. Waiting until a health event forces the move is increasingly risky in a market where inventory is this constrained. Planners and real estate professionals are now advising clients to start the search years earlier than previous generations typically did.
The Takeaway
The shift toward single-story living among retirees isn’t a passing preference or a lifestyle trend. It’s a structural response to an aging population, an inaccessible housing stock, and a fundamental mismatch between how American homes were built and how Americans are now living in them. The country is not prepared to meet the residential needs and preferences specific to this growing group.
The gap between what retirees want and what the market currently offers is large, and it will take years of deliberate construction and policy changes to close it. In the meantime, the single-story home has quietly become one of the most competitive segments in American real estate, and that competition is only going to intensify.
AI Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by a human editor.