The best is yet to come

If things go as planned, lots of retirees won’t have to travel to find fun. It will be available right at home.

So much attention has been paid to older homeowners who move to a smaller, less expensive place to ease tight retirement budgets that the word describing the practice — “downsizing” — is part of the common vernacular.

But that term doesn’t describe how nearly half of older homeowners who plan to move at least one more time envision their future home.

A survey by Freddie Mac, the mortgage agency, found that 37 percent of 55 and older homeowners indicate they probably will move at least one more time.

Only half of those likely movers predict they’ll go to a less expensive place, with 37 percent saying they’ll buy a home costing about the same and 12 percent planning to trade up to a costlier home.

Those numbers sound right to Christopher Dorociak of John Burns Real Estate Consulting. He’s studied vacationoriented communities that are a few hours outside of metro areas and found they “attract 55-plus households seeking a home similarly priced or more expensive than their current one.”

A “NEXTadventure” house, featuring the amenities that research has shown retirees will want, is being constructed now to be open in connection with the International Builders Show in January 2017.

Outdoor entertaining spaces, storage space in a garage and energy efficiency are some of the features of the showcase house, explains Meg Gore of Taylor Morrison, the company building it.

Freddie Mac found that the more affluent the 55-plus household, the more likely they are to move. For those without the resources to splurge on another residence, however, life may still be good: The survey found 64 percent of homeowners are “very satisfied” with their current home.