Let's explore the topic of inaccessible homes in the housing stock. As you continue to think about how the features of older homes lead to inaccessibility, consider that this directly impacts the limited accessible options in the housing stock. 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development found that only about a third of housing in the United States is potentially modifiable for a person with a mobility disability. Less than 5% is accessible for individuals with a moderate mobility difficulty, and one fifteenth of a percent (0.15%) of homes are accessible for wheelchair users. I have been digging into this data for a while now, and the odds of finding a functional home out there is a little slim.

In addition, this means that even less than that can be considered universally accessible, where the entire home has features that work well for people with a lot of different needs. We often forget that we aren't healthy humans forever, and at some point, an unexpected surgery or even a broken leg can make using our homes more difficult. It doesn't even have to be a significant traumatic event.

Do you remember Peter Pan from the classic Disney movie? He never grew up and stayed a healthy and active boy. Some people used the term Peter Pan Homes to describe homes for people that never grow up or don't experience age or health-related decline.

It may seem a little silly to think about homes that way, but this attitude has led people to make compromises on their homes, and they just have to learn to live in places that don't meet their needs.

Our friend Brook agrees. She uses a wheelchair due to her disability and has spent countless hours searching for an accessible home that provides her the independence she desires. Unfortunately, there are just not a lot of options.

The lack of inaccessibility causes people to spend more time on what they have to do versus what they want to do, and potentially have to rely on someone else for help. Suppose our only options are Peter Pan homes, like split levels or two story traditional styles. In that case, this doesn't leave us any flexibility for our lives to change, which we know is inevitable throughout all stages of our life.

So let's do a little refresher here. What are the two things we've talked about regarding why there aren't a lot of accessible homes in our housing stock? First, the homes are on average, older. And second, the current housing stock has a limited amount of options due to the design making the homes inaccessible.

Next up, we will talk about how new homes continue to be built without accessible features and the affordability of buying a new home.