When Dan Yafet’s son moved out of their apartment in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood, he found himself with too much space and not enough money—so he took on an octogenarian roommate.
Now Yafet, a 68-year-old who works for an architect’s office, shares his fourth-floor walk-up with 86-year-old Alan Ferber, splitting the $2,000 monthly rent for the two-bedroom apartment.
“We don't throw parties, but it’s a good setup,” Ferber said. “We don't get in each other's way, and we like each other.”
An uptick in so-called “boommates”—roommates of the baby boomer generation—is the latest manifestation of a housing affordability crisis that’s slammed Americans of all ages, especially those in expensive cities like New York. To make ends meet, an increasing number of those 65 and older are choosing shared housing arrangements, helping save money in an era when many have fallen behind on retirement savings and there’s increasing concern about a loneliness epidemic.
Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies estimates that almost a million people over the age of 65 now live with unrelated housemates. Roommate finder sites have seen an influx of older users, with SpareRoom experiencing its fastest growth among that cohort. And one-in-four roommates in the U.S. is aged 45 or above, according to the site, a figure that’s more than doubled in the past decade.
“There's been a big bump in housing costs, and that's forced people from a financial standpoint to either cut back or find ways like this to cut these costs,” said Jamie Battmer, chief investment officer at wealth management firm Creative Planning. “We’ve got this big group of people entering the prime years of retirement, so you're going to have more people doing this.”
Affordable Housing
Versions of these shared living setups have existed for years, but they’re increasing in popularity as a surge in prices for housing, and pretty much everything else, coincides with the baby boomer generation entering retirement. There were 58 million Americans ages 65 and older in 2022, up from 43 million in 2012, according to Harvard’s JCHS. And a record 4.1 million Americans will turn 65 this year and every year through 2027, data from the Alliance for Lifetime Income shows.
Even though inflation has cooled, senior adults are struggling to afford costs that have skyrocketed the last few years. In 2021, more than 11 million were cost-burdened, meaning they spent more than 30% of their household income on housing. While many retirees own their homes outright, others are stuck with high mortgage or rent payments.
In New York, rent has shot up 33% from pre-pandemic levels, and nationwide that figure is about 30%. For homeowners, increased costs for taxes, insurance and utilities have surged 26% since 2020.
“We've seen an increase in older adults who are carrying mortgages on their primary homes including among people who are 80 and over,” said Jennifer Molinsky, a project director at Harvard’s JCHS. “And for those folks and for renters the cost burden rate is much higher. There's a much greater struggle with affordability. As we have more and more people in their eighties and over, that's a time when incomes really can't necessarily keep up with housing costs.”
Joseph Iorio, 71, took on a roommate after his partner died in 2022, leaving him struggling to afford the mortgage payment on his three-bedroom house in Charleston.
Wanting to retire in a warmer climate, he and his partner moved to South Carolina from Minnesota in 2019 and paid $230,000 for their home. After refinancing during the pandemic for a 2.2% mortgage rate, his monthly payment is about $1200, but he also has a mountain of debt from a failed business venture and even considered filing for bankruptcy. Instead, he decided to try a roommate, finding a 49-year-old man who pays $1,000 a month.
That’s allowed Iorio, who makes about $2000 a month as a chauffeur, to pay down his debt faster while still making his car and home payments on time. It’s also allowing him to save more for when he can no longer work, something that many Americans are struggling to do.
More than half of baby boomers are at risk of a retirement shortfall, according to a Morningstar report released this month.
“Having the roommate income makes a huge difference,” he said. “I don’t think I would be able to send all this money out if I didn’t have him.”
Reducing Loneliness
Linda Hoffman runs the New York Foundation for Senior Citizens, a nonprofit that hosts a program focused on matching older adults with roommates. Hoffman said that when she started the program back in 1981 she only had ten matches. This year so far she’s had more than 30. Over the years, Hoffman said she’s noticed people’s needs have changed—in the past many were motivated by loneliness, now the need for a roommate is more financial.
“It’s a win for the homeowner or renter who is the host—those individuals are able to remain in place where they are and can afford to do so,” said Hoffman. “It’s a real win for the guest because they are able to receive affordable housing.”
That’s how Marcy Arlin, 73, and Gayoung Lee, 25, ended up living together in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Arlin, a former theater director and professor, has lived in Brooklyn since 1980 and had been married for 25 years. Her husband passed away eight years ago and after she lost her teaching job in 2023 she realized she needed a roommate.
“Rent has gone up, my health insurance has gone up, my car insurance has gone up—everything has gone up,” said Arlin. “I was eating too much into my savings.”
Meanwhile Lee, a current graduate student at NYU’s science journalism program, was looking for somewhere quiet to live after enduring NYU’s East Village dorms. She moved into Arlin’s two-bedroom apartment about three months ago and pays her $1000 a month. Arlin’s two cats, Luka and Didi, have been a source of bonding for the two.
“She’s such a great person to talk to about what's on your mind—she’s experienced so much, she gives really good advice,” Lee said. “That’s been really good for me and I get a lot more time to focus on myself professionally and personally, which I don't think I've been able to do since coming to New York.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.