ARE OLD PEOPLE A PROBLEM? July 24, 2025
Because I’m 81, some people think I’m causing a problem.
Last Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle ran a cover story on the graying of the Bay Area: “This doom loop will hit every aspect of our lives.” Old folks put the region’s prosperity at risk. The solution?
Hopefully, it won’t come to “Logan’s Run.” This 1976 movie starring Michael York, set in 2274, places the remnants of civilization in a utopia beneath a geodesic dome. Resources are scarce, yet plentiful. Why? Residents are executed at age 30. When I saw it, I was 32.
Am I behind the Bay Area’s looming economic demise? Take the high cost of housing. One proffered cause: baby boomers (born 1946–64) and people older won’t sell their homes.
Carolyn and I bought ours in 1983. Mortgage rates ran 12+ percent. The interior was shabby, but the structure sound. While our budget was limited, our family of five needed more room—plus a washer and dryer. We’ve renovated several times.
Our home constitutes three investments. The first is financial. Homes soak up money, but when we—or our kids—sell, it will bring in ten times or more than what we paid. Fortunately, we don’t need the money. The second is emotional. Our children grew up here. The house is filled with memories. Okay, some are painful. If you’ve had or have teenagers, you know. But the scales tip heavily towards the wonderful.
The third investment concerns our wellbeing and enjoyment. Carolyn makes the breakfast room off the kitchen her office. I write upstairs in my office/study, once a kids bedroom. Our sunroom with windows on three sides is a great place to read and/or take a nap. We still have a guestroom. Our dining room hosts holiday and friends dinners. Trade-off: Our living room doubles as our family room. Fine.
We won’t sell as our societal duty. We’d rather enjoy the space and light for as long as we can.
Further, America’s housing problems don’t simply grow out of older folks staying in homes they worked hard to buy and maintain. Many cities and towns, including San Francisco, make building higher-density, and thus entry-level and affordable, housing terribly difficult. Sure, municipalities must maintain reasonable zoning and construction regulations. But, needless red tape forces developers to jump through hoops, raises costs, or prevents building altogether.
An enterprising friend once bought empty lots in San Francisco to build eleven single-family homes. Neighbors thwarted him. They wanted to park along the same curb space and keep the property for dog walking. City Hall approved the permits, then caved. Politics cost eleven families a home.
As for Carolyn and me, we won’t live forever. Neither will the boomers. Ultimately, our homes will go on the market. Right now, governmental must use common sense to encourage more multi-unit housing starts and in-law apartments.
No one has set a deadline for us to stop living in our home. Yet. But might new legislation halt home renovations—ongoing throughout our neighborhood—to dampen resale prices? Force us to take boarders? Move us into senior living quarters? Deny us medical care to hasten our departure from this earth?
For now, we’ll pay our taxes—yes, low—and support neighborhood shops and restaurants.
Tomorrow? I hope you won’t be seeing “Perlstein’s Run.”
Please pass on this post.
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It’s a city of silver haired oldies now. More dog owners than kids.
One problem that I faced, thinking of downsizing.. capital gains taxes, realtor fees, 50 grand to upgrade roof and painting inside and out, etc the costs were so high after sale I’d have 500,000 to get another place. Would have provided a tiny studio in an unpleasant area. Moved my son,wife and grandson in and now live in granny in-law . Love sharing but separate. And I agree, teenage years thur 21 were pretty rough going!
There are lots of older folks like us, Dede—and lots of ways to meet our housing needs. No “one size fits all” solutions by any means. We’re lucky to make things work.
The problem with housing shortage is not one to be blamed on any citizens who either rent or own their living spaces. It is up to municipalities to figure out how to manage resources while looking toward the future via city planning.
Berkeley is strongly considering new zoning law that prevents any new single family homes from being built, in favor of all multi family. It’s a tiny town and that doesn’t seem all that drastic of a solution for future generations.
Tamar, we definitely need new thinking. Carolyn and I lived in apartments and flats before we bought the house. A matter of economics. We need more units, and not everyone wants to own a house which comes, as you know, with commitments.
I agree with Tamar. San Francisco housing is at the top of an elitist bubble, and the economy is shaky. Multi family or affordable does not have to be poorly built. But poorly built is what the city has been supporting all along. NIMBY is alive and present: If a luxury high-rise is built, the corporate owners have to either 1) allow X # of the units to be affordable housing, or 2) build X # of units exclusively for affordable elsewhere. SF allows these units to be barely up to code, using leftover materials from previous sites. They are very poorly designed and constructed, and in poorer neighborhoods. I took a tour of these places a few years ago – horrifying. If we want to see what CAN be done, we only have to take BART across the Bay to Oakland, where a beautiful affordable high-rise was built in West Oakland. I had a tour of that also. It was intentionally built for mid-low income working families. Triple glazed windows to correct for noise, A communal area w/kitchen for social gatherings, a gym, a free laundry room on each floor. I toured that, too. Things are changing here. I purchased my condo when I moved back to SF Nov 2024. Last week a comparable condo in the same building sold for 20% less that what I paid. Corporations are moving out of state. Federal employees are being laid off. This is a problem that no one wants to look at, but it is looming. Never forget Pogo…
Yes, Pogo, Jean: “We have met the enemy and they are us.”