Pets Influence Many Older Homeowners’ Real Estate, Decorating Choices

Source: AARP — 

Many pet owners are thinking of their animals when they plan home renovations, do some redecorating or even shop for a new place to live.

About 7 of 10 boomers and Gen Xers — generations that together now range in age from their 40s to their mid-70s — own pets, and many take their animal companions into account when it comes to real estate. In a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults released by Ally Home, the mortgage division of banking and financial services outfit Ally, 30 percent of Gen Xers and 34 percent of boomers reported having made changes of some sort to their homes because of their pets. Twenty-four percent of Gen Xers and 19 percent of boomers give their dogs, cats or other animals a dedicated space inside their homes.