NAHB: Remodeling for aging in place fell in Q1 but receptivity remains high

Roughly 56% of professional home remodelers in the U.S. reported taking on projects to facilitate a customer’s aging-in-place goals, according to findings from the National Association of Home Builders‘ (NAHB) Q1 2025 Remodeling Market Index (RMI).

The survey first added questions related to aging in place beginning in 2004. The first-quarter 2025 results are the “the lowest percentage recorded since NAHB began periodically asking [aging in place] questions,” the homebuilder trade group explained.

The drop is attributed primarily to economic volatility, specifically high interest rates, general uncertainty and observed swings in the stock market. The market volatility “has dampened any potential wealth effects, especially since over 75% of all corporate equities and mutual fund holdings are held by those 55 or older,” NAHB said.

But the organization also acknowledged that aging in place as a concept remains a popular one as older Americans draw up their plans for living in later life.

As a concept, it “is becoming more relevant as the overall median age of the population continues to increase,” NAHB said, an acknowledgment of the demographic trends behind the so-called “silver tsunami.”

But the need for home renovations is only expected to increase as time goes on.

While newer construction has the potential to implement aging-in-place concepts during the design phase, NAHB notes that the age of existing housing stock is such that renovation needs are only expected to rise as the population continues to grow older. The group said this is “a major demand-driver for the remodeling sector.”

The vast majority (73%) of aging-in-place home modification work orders belong to the 65-and-older cohort, NAHB found. Those between the ages of 55 to 64 were next most prominent at 61%.

Younger demographics were significantly less likely to engage in such work. Those in the 45-to-54 year bracket accounted for only 15%, while those 44 and under had shares of 2% to 5%.

But an overwhelming majority of home remodelers reported “that most or some of their consumers are familiar with the [aging-in-place] concept.” Since 2018, the figure has remained above 90%, but in Q1 2025 it reached 96%.

As far as the types of projects that are most common, grab bars were the far-and-away leader at 87%. These were followed by curbless showers (78%), higher toilets (71%) and wider doorways (52%), all of which remain the most consistent aging-in-place projects cited by remodelers in different editions of the study.

There are several instances in which academic authorities, consumer surveys and local governments have aimed to warn their constituencies about the need to prepare for an aging population.

A report by Capgemini earlier this month warned of the potential impacts on property insurers. Meanwhile, states like Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts and New Mexico have had to reckon with an aging population in various ways.