Rent or Own?

The housing market in St. Pete is ridiculously hot right now---I mean ridiculously hot and I've heard from friends that it's happening in other places as well. So this recent Washington Post article, Demand rises among seniors to rent rather than own in active-adult communities, seemed incredibly timely. "While properties restricted or targeted to seniors have always been available, a newer option is to rent an apartment, villa or single-family home within an active-adult community. These communities are designed for younger residents who want plenty of recreational amenities and opportunities to socialize with people in their age group of 55 and older."

Here's some interesting data from a consultant interviewed for the article. “The average age of residents in independent-living facilities used to be in their 70s and in recent years they’re in their 80s. Developers wanted to ‘down-age’ the residents in their communities so they would stay longer. The typical renter in an active-adult community now is a divorced or widowed single woman in her mid-70s ...."  The article covers the pros and cons of renting, the flexibility, affordability, the soaring costs of buying a home, rent increases, etc.  The article discusses various approaches by the developers in developing and offering rental units within these communities.