How To Profit From The Coming Baby Boomer Rental Boom

Q: Gerald, you often mention how important it is to keep track of demographic changes and trends. What changes do you see on the horizon and how can I take advantage of them? Kirsten, Philadelphia, PA

A: You can and should profit from recognizing population and demographic trends. There are around 80 million baby boomers in the US now and almost a quarter of them have no savings. As thousands of baby boomers retire and exit the workforce every day with insufficient savings many will have no choice but to downsize and rent. You can profit from this trend by investing directly or indirectly in rental property. You can invest directly in rental property where Boomers want to live, or you can invest indirectly through a real estate fund for example that invests in rental property.

The choice whether to invest directly or indirectly should be based on the amount of time and energy you can reasonably commit to your investment–if you have the time and stomach to deal with an active investment like rental property, consider investing directly, if you don’t have the time or the inclination to deal with the day-to-day headaches of rental property, then a real estate fund with experienced fund managers with expertise in acquiring and managing profitable rental properties is probably a better solution for you.

Thanks for your question, Kirsten. For more real estate information and tips visit my blog at geraldlucas.com.