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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.

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.

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.

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.