The ranch is back.

More than half of all home buyers nationwide bought a single-story residence last year, according to Los Angeles-based KB Home. Most of these homes were sold in markets in the South, including Texas and Florida.

"The ranch sort of disappeared for a time," but the style is "pretty routinely being introduced in bigger subdivisions," says consultant Steve Hovany, president of Strategy Planning Associates in Schaumburg, Ill. The reason is that "on average, the buyer is getting older.”

Buyers over 55 account for more than one-fifth of new home sales and about 18 percent of the total home-buying market, the National Association of Home Builders 50-Plus Council reports.

Leigh Nevers, vice-president of marketing for the Chicago region of Lennar Corp., says the No. 1 feature sought by boomers is a bedroom on the first floor.

Source: Chicago Tribune, Sharon Stangenes (01/26/07)