Health is Wealth

I recently ran across this article written by one of my Compass corporate colleagues. It really resonated with me, as I recently had elderly clients move back from their dream destination due to the lack of good health care where they had relocated. They ended up losing money on the sale of the home they had only lived in for eighteen months and had to pay a much higher price for a home here.

Nationally, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. continues to rank as the best hospital in the country. Ranking second in the 2022-2023 rankings is Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, followed by NYU Langone Hospitals in New York, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. However, for overall healthcare quality Boston SHINES! For many homebuyers, easy access to top quality healthcare may be a critical decision-making aspect.

Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore, Chicago, San Francisco, Ann Arbor, San Jose, Houston, Seattle, Cleveland, Phoenix, Tampa, Washington DC, Denver, Miami, Detroit, Atlanta and Dallas consistently have some of the best health and hospital care in the US.

Many home buyers don't think about this aspect when buying, but many do, especially older buyers who may need more health care than younger buyers. The oldest older adults (ages 85 and older) have the highest per capita utilization of health services, and that population is expected to increase from 5 million to 9 million between by 2030. Areas with older populations are more likely to have higher healthcare demand.

So when exploring a place to live, it may be wise to evaluate your potential healthcare needs for the next decade or so and also the access, availability, quality and cost of it in the area you are considering. Might a parent move to live with you in the future? Also, is there a sufficient (growing) population of professionals willing and qualified to do the work? Are there great healthcare education institutions in your area? Homecare for the elderly as populations age more will need an increasing number of workers too.

Remember, health is wealth! And quality healthcare adds to real estate demand and values.

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