Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTEmma Caplan-FisherSun, June 14, 2026 at 7:30 PM GMT+2 5 min readImagine Carol, a 67-year-old retired teacher in suburban Ohio. She owns a four-bedroom home outright with no mortgage, but two of those bedrooms have been empty since her kids left a decade ago.The property taxes keep climbing, the roof needs replacing soon and she recently turned down a trip to see her grandchildren because a plumber’s bill wiped out her travel fund for the month.Must ReadRobert Kiyosaki says this 1 asset will surge 400% in a year and begs investors not to miss this ‘explosion’The ultra-rich use these 5 real estate strategies to build wealth while they sleep — you can start with just $100Millionaires under 43 are reshaping investing — just 25% of their portfolios are in stocks. Here’s where their money is goingShe knows it’s time to downsize. What she can’t decide is whether to buy something smaller or, for the first time in 40 years, rent.It’s a question more older Americans are wrestling with than you might expect.CNBC notes research (1) from the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University that says more than seven million adults aged 65 and older — roughly 20% of older households — currently rent rather than own. And Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies confirms (2) the older adult household population has grown 16% since 2019, with older adults now leading 28% of all U.S. households — a share that will keep climbing as boomers age.The honest case for rentingThe appeal to rent starts with math. According to HomeGuide (3), financial experts recommend saving 1–4% of a home’s value annually for maintenance and repairs — meaning a $400,000 home could cost between $4,000 and $16,000 a year just to maintain, before any major system failures.Costs for things like roofs, HVAC replacements or plumbing emergencies don’t stop accumulating because you’ve retired.“Renting often offers more amenities, less maintenance, more accessibility,” Jennifer Molinsky, director of the housing and aging society program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies, told CNBC (1).Then there’s the liquidity argument.A home worth $400,000 is $400,000 that isn’t generating income while you live in it. If Carol sells and invests those proceeds in a diversified portfolio, that capital can start working — potentially producing income, covering rent and still preserving her estate.For retirees trying to stretch fixed income over an unpredictable lifespan, that flexibility has real value.Renting also offers something harder to quantify: the ability to move. Whether it’s relocating closer to family, accessing better health care or simply wanting a warmer winter, lease-based living makes transitions far less complicated than selling a property.Terms and Privacy PolicyPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info