Almost one of three Canadians is a baby boomer, according to the results of the 2006 census by Statistics Canada. Boomers, born between 1946 and 1965, were between the ages of 41 and 60 last year. They comprise the largest group in the population.

A number of these baby boomers are also approaching retirement. StatsCan’s Portrait of the Canadian Population in 2006, by Age and Sex: Findings noted that the number of people aged 55 to 64 in 2006, 3.7 million, “has never been so high in Canada”.

RE/MAX, a leading real-estate organization, estimates that baby boomers own $230 billion in real-estate assets and have a net worth of $530 billion. And they’re not yet finished playing the real-estate market.

North Vancouver–based realtor Charlie Kiers told the Georgia Straight that a fifth of his clients are usually people 55 years old and above. They’re not yet retired, their kids have moved away, and now they don’t need a big house. Besides, they no longer want to take care of the yard.

“They downsize to, typically, a smaller house or a condominium,” Kiers said in a phone interview. “It impacts on the market by increased home sales. It keeps the real-?estate market going.”

Kiers explained that this cycle has an impact on the market in two ways. One, it frees up property for sale to younger people and new immigrants where it normally wouldn’t be available because of limited land supply. Two, this creates increased demand for condominiums, townhouses, and duplexes for older people wanting to downsize.

“Typically, they still want a larger square footage [but] smaller than their [previous] home,” Kiers said. “They don’t want to downsize to a one-bedroom condo”¦because [they] want to have a room for guests or kids coming to stay with them. A lot of them have computers, so they want to have an additional space for a small office.”

Although they give up size, these consumers won’t compromise on quality. “They’re getting a lot of income or equity from the sale of their home and they’re used to having a nice place,” Kiers said. “They would typically buy a higher-quality house or townhouse.”

In May this year, RE/MAX issued a report about the prospects for the recreational-property market in 2007. In a news release, the real-estate group stated that sales for this type of property are expected to soar as baby boomers awash with equity money look for upscale products across the country.

“While many boomers have retirement in mind, others are looking for a second home where they can spend quality time with their families and friends,” the RE/MAX release noted. “Although the investment aspect is secondary, it still plays an important role in the decision to purchase a recreational property, be it a lakefront cottage, a hobby farm with acreage, or an oceanfront condominium.”

After seeing record activity levels in the first half of 2007, the Canadian Real Estate Association revised its previous forecast for national home sales last month. From its original projection of a 3.6 percent increase in home sales, or the equivalent of 500,995 units, the CREA stated in a news release that sales this year will rise by 8.1 percent to 523,100 units in 2007. “Prices are forecast to set new records in every province this year and in 2008, but price increases will be smaller next year,” it noted.

Cameron Muir, chief economist of the B.C. Real Estate Association, told the Straight that the active market is partly being driven by boomers acquiring more properties.

“Some of those who are buying recreational properties are buying those with the intention of retiring and having them as their principal residence once they reach their retirement age,” Muir said. “When we look at markets throughout B.C., we see a lot of markets outside of the large urban centres doing quite well.”

Muir also said that the boomers will continue to have an impact on the market further down the road.

“Once the boomers get past their early retirement days and get into their 80s and 90s, we’re going to see a big explosion of the number of assisted-living and independent-living types of housing accommodations,” he said. “The”¦85-plus group over the next 20 years is likely going to double.”