Empty nesters planning future moves often fixate on finding homes without stairs, assuming mobility limitations will eventually require single-story living. This seemingly prudent planning leads many to pass on otherwise ideal properties because they include staircases, even when buyers have no current mobility issues.
The irony: most people who move to eliminate stairs never actually need that accommodation. Those who do develop serious mobility limitations often face additional health concerns that require moving to assisted living regardless of home configuration.
Ryan Bruen of The Bruen Team at Coldwell Banker Realty in Morristown, New Jersey, observes this pattern regularly among empty nesters searching for properties. “A lot of these people that move to a home with few or no stairs because of that reason, end up never needing that,” he explains. “Or if they do have that need, they have other medical needs that come along with it that will require them to move out of that home anyway.”
The Fear-Based Decision
The focus on eliminating stairs stems from watching parents or older relatives struggle with mobility as they age. These observations create powerful impressions that shape housing decisions decades before any personal mobility concerns materialize.
Younger retirees extrapolate from elderly relatives’ experiences, assuming similar challenges await them. This leads to eliminating otherwise suitable properties from consideration solely because they include stairs to second-story bedrooms or finished basements.
The challenge with this approach involves sacrificing current quality of life and housing preferences for theoretical future needs that may never materialize, or if they do, may require relocations regardless of stair presence.
What Actually Happens
Medical advances and improved understanding of healthy aging mean today’s retirees often remain mobile far longer than previous generations. Regular exercise, better nutrition, and proactive healthcare frequently allow people to navigate stairs comfortably well into their 80s and beyond.
When mobility limitations do develop, they rarely exist in isolation. The medical conditions that prevent stair climbing typically include additional complications requiring care levels that independent living cannot provide, even in perfectly accessible single-story homes.
Memory care needs, assistance with daily activities, medication management, and monitoring for fall risks create requirements that accessible home design cannot address. These situations necessitate assisted living or memory care facilities regardless of whether someone’s home has stairs.
The Resistance to Change Factor
The stair fixation reflects a broader pattern among potential downsizers: resistance to future changes. Having finally committed to one major move, they want that property to serve them indefinitely without requiring additional relocations.
“People get comfortable as we get older,” Bruen notes. “As we get older, we get more resistant to change in general, and so the idea of making that move in the first place is tough for them.”
This desire for permanence drives decisions to prioritize theoretical future needs over current preferences. However, the strategy often backfires because it leads to accepting compromises on location, layout, or features that matter today for the sake of accessibility that may never be needed.
When future moves do become necessary, they typically result from circumstances no amount of single-story planning can prevent. Conversely, people who choose homes optimized for their current needs often enjoy those properties for decades while maintaining good mobility.
The Better Approach
Rather than eliminating properties with stairs entirely, a more balanced strategy considers stair placement and frequency of use. A home requiring stair use only to access secondary bedrooms used by occasional guests creates minimal daily burden compared to configurations requiring multiple daily trips for laundry, primary bedroom access, or main living spaces.
First-floor primary suites provide meaningful benefits even in homes with stairs to secondary levels. This configuration allows aging in place through most mobility scenarios while maintaining flexibility for guests and multipurpose space use.
Properties with potential to add accessibility features if needed offer another option. Homes with layouts accommodating potential first-floor bedroom additions or bathroom modifications provide future flexibility without requiring those changes immediately.
Time Horizon Considerations
The relevant planning horizon for most empty nesters purchasing homes in their 60s extends 15 to 25 years. During that timeframe, most maintain mobility sufficient for navigating stairs, particularly when homes are well-maintained and stair use is limited.
Sacrificing preferred locations, accepting compromised layouts, or settling for less desirable properties to avoid stairs means accepting lower quality of life for decades for the sake of theoretical future needs that more likely will require assisted living than merely accessible housing.
For resources on evaluating properties for long-term suitability, visit bruenrealestate.com/buy.
The Practical Middle Ground
Smart planning for potential future mobility needs doesn’t require eliminating all properties with stairs from consideration. Instead, it involves evaluating specific configurations, considering modification potential, and maintaining realistic expectations about likely scenarios.
Properties with first-floor primary suites and main living spaces provide most accessibility benefits even when secondary spaces require stairs. Homes in walkable locations near medical facilities, shopping, and services often prove more valuable for aging in place than stair-free layouts in isolated locations.
Most importantly, optimizing for current needs and lifestyle preferences typically proves wiser than over-indexing on theoretical future limitations. The years spent in homes should prioritize enjoyment and functionality for current life stages rather than premature accommodation of scenarios that may never materialize or that independent living cannot adequately address when they do.
About Ryan Bruen: Ryan Bruen leads The Bruen Team at Coldwell Banker Realty in Morristown, New Jersey, specializing in residential real estate throughout Morris County. The multi-generational real estate family has maintained the #1 sales position at their Coldwell Banker office for over seven years.
This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.