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A new University of Michigan study estimates women will spend about seven years of their lives caring for an older family member, nearly three more than men. When we assess a home, we usually ask about the person who lives there. Who asks about the person who helps them?

A Maine program gave 606 older adults free smart speakers, and 72% felt comfortable using them within two months. The device was the easy part. Setup, training, internet access, and the home itself decide who actually benefits.

A new national survey says most older Americans want care at home, and more than half of adults haven't planned financially for it. There is a third planning gap nobody asked about: whether the house can handle care at all.

Sotheby's 2026 Mid-Year Luxury Outlook found that nearly 38 percent of agents in the ten-million-dollar-plus market say aging in place is now shaping how their clients buy. The report argues the effect reaches well below the ultra-luxury tier. Here's what that means for real estate professionals at every price point.

New Census data shows poverty among adults 65 and older has risen for a fifth consecutive year, even as the country's overall poverty rate fell to a record low. Older women are hit hardest, and the financial strain often starts years before 65. Here's what the data shows, and what it means for families planning ahead.

A newly published Ohio State study tracked what happened after community paramedics installed 224 grab bars for older adults who had already fallen. Fall-related 911 calls dropped 61 percent. Hospital transport rates dropped 58 percent. Here is what the data shows, and why installation quality is the real story.

A major bipartisan housing law, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, became law July 11, 2026, and for the first time names grab bars and ramps as an eligible use for a new federal home-repair pilot program. None of it is funded yet. Here's what's actually in the law, section by section.

AARP's newest research finds that most older adults, 68 percent, say universal design features matter to them. Only 35 percent say they would actually go looking for a home that has them. That gap isn't a contradiction. It's the opening for anyone who designs, builds, or remodels homes for a living.

CDC's newest national data shows the fall death rate among adults 65 and older has climbed 21% since 2018. More than 1 in 4 older adults falls every year. Behind that number is a quieter, more useful story: most of what drives a fall inside a home is identifiable, and most of it is fixable.

Most homeowners planning a bathroom remodel never use the word "accessible." They say things like "this needs to work in ten years" instead. New data from Houzz shows that more than two-thirds of them are already building accessibility into the project, and the specific features they're choosing look a lot like good design first.

ASTHO's new report on rural falls prevention shows what happens when states stop treating clinical screening and community programs as separate systems. Iowa and Oklahoma both closed that gap, and the results are a direct lesson for OTs and community partners.

A new peer-reviewed study tracked 25 older adults through HUD's home modification program and measured what changed before and after occupational therapy-led interventions: safety ratings up 48% on average, accessibility up 52%. Here's what the data shows, and what it doesn't.

Material costs are up 6.7% since March, and NAHB's overall remodeling sentiment dipped a point. But the $20,000-$50,000 project range, where most aging-in-place work lives, posted the strongest gain of any segment on the index. Here's what that split actually means if you're scoping this work right now.

The share of remodelers doing aging-in-place work just hit its lowest point since NAHB started tracking it in 2004. Client demand didn't go anywhere — receptiveness and familiarity are near record highs.

Most families assume home modifications are entirely out-of-pocket. They aren't. Federal, VA, and state Medicaid programs exist to help cover the cost — but only if someone knows to ask the right questions.

In March 2026, Harvard's Gazette published a feature framing aging in place not as a medical problem to manage, but as a design problem to solve. For CAPS-certified professionals, that's not a new argument. It's the foundation of the work.

Prince George's County, Maryland began requiring Universal Design features in new residential construction in 2026 — unanimously, and ahead of any federal mandate. For architects, builders, and designers, this is what the policy direction looks like when it arrives.

Adults 50 and older generated $12.5 trillion in economic activity in 2024 - enough to rank as the world’s third-largest economy. For professionals who serve this population, the AARP Longevity Economy Report 2026 isn’t just interesting data. It’s a market brief.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects occupational therapy employment will grow 14 percent between 2024 and 2034. That is more than four times the average growth rate across all occupations. The field isn't just growing. It is growing faster than it can fill its own seats. National vacancy rates hover near 9 percent. More than two-thirds of employers report difficulty hiring OTs. Rural areas are harder hit. Wait times are stretching. And the demographic pressure behind all

NAHB is projecting 3% growth in residential remodeling in 2026 and 2% in 2027. The underlying driver is not new demand. It is aging housing stock and aging homeowners who are choosing to stay where they are. The average U.S. home is now 41 years old. Most were built before accessibility standards existed. If you are a builder, designer, or remodeler reading that forecast as "business as usual, plus a little," you are reading it wrong.