Atlanta just entered Zonda’s top 10 “Baby Chaser” markets as new research shows proximity to children and grandchildren is becoming an increasingly important driver of where older Americans choose to live.
By Susan Rogers
For years, the real estate industry has talked about where retirees want to live. Lori Lane believes homebuilders may need to start asking a different question: Where did their children go?
Atlanta’s answer is becoming increasingly important.
On Sept. 8, Builder published Zonda’s latest Baby Chaser Index, an annual ranking of markets experiencing overlapping growth among younger adults putting down roots and older adults who may later follow them. Atlanta entered the national top 10 for the first time, ranking No. 10, while growth among the metro’s older cohort accelerated year over year.
For Lane, President and CEO of LLANE & Co., the finding has implications well beyond population growth.
“For years, we’ve talked about where retirees want to go,” Lane said. “Increasingly, the better question may be: Where did their children go? If your children and grandchildren are putting down roots in Atlanta, that can become a very powerful reason to make Georgia your next home, too.”
Lane has spent more than two decades specializing in new-home sales and marketing, with much of her career focused on understanding not simply what buyers purchase, but why they move.
Family May Be the Amenity That Comes First
One of the most compelling findings behind Zonda’s research is that about one-quarter of baby boomers say they plan to retire near their children or grandchildren.
Zonda also reports that its consumer research found proximity to family to be the No. 1 reason retirees choose to relocate; not single-story homes or amenities, although those features still matter.
For Lane, that distinction is important.
“We spend a lot of time talking about pickleball courts, clubhouses, pools and low-maintenance living, and all of those things absolutely matter,” Lane said. “But sometimes the first amenity is the grandkids. The lifestyle may help someone choose the community. Family may be what gets them looking at Atlanta in the first place.”
That changes the way builders should think about the active-adult buyer.
The decision may not start with a desire to retire somewhere warm or find a smaller home. It may begin because adult children have established careers, bought homes and started families in Atlanta, and their parents would like to be part of that life without giving up their own independence.
Atlanta Is Attracting Both Ends of the Family
Atlanta’s first appearance in Zonda’s top 10 comes as the metro continues to attract new residents across generations.
According to the Builder/Zonda analysis, Atlanta added nearly 62,000 residents from 2024 to 2025, the third-largest population increase in the country behind Houston and Dallas.
Zonda points to Atlanta’s employment opportunities, established suburbs, diversity and international connectivity as attractions for younger households. For older households, access to medical facilities, entertainment and a wide range of housing options add to the appeal.
The report also notes that demand from older buyers has become increasingly visible, with major builders targeting Atlanta for more active-adult communities in recent years.
“That’s what makes this particularly interesting for Atlanta,” Lane said. “The same things that attract young professionals and families can ultimately create another layer of demand when parents decide they want to be closer to them.”
Close to the Kids, But Not Living With the Kids
Lane says following family does not mean older buyers want to give up their independence.
In fact, active-adult communities can offer a compelling middle ground.
“They aren’t necessarily saying, ‘I want to move in with my children,’” Lane said. “They want their own home, their own friends and their own lifestyle. They just want to be close enough that seeing their children or grandchildren becomes part of everyday life instead of something that requires a plane ticket.”
That might mean dinner with family on Sunday and pickleball with friends on Monday. Helping with the grandchildren when needed, then returning home to a community with its own social calendar, amenities and activities.
For builders, understanding that emotional motivation can be every bit as important as understanding a buyer’s desired square footage or floor plan.
It is part of the buyer-first approach reflected in LLANE & Co.’s new-home sales strategy, where positioning, product, marketing and sales are considered together.
Proximity May Bring Them Here. Lifestyle Helps Them Stay.
The Baby Chaser trend also suggests that Atlanta’s active-adult demand may become increasingly local. Parents following their children are not simply choosing “Atlanta.” They may be choosing the part of metro Atlanta where their family has already put down roots.
“That is an important distinction for builders,” Lane said. “If the children are living in North Fulton, Cherokee or Forsyth, their parents may begin their search on that side of Atlanta. If the family is in Gwinnett, they may look east. The same thing can happen around Lake Lanier or on Atlanta’s south side. Family can determine the geography of the search before the buyer ever starts comparing communities.”
Lane sees that dynamic across communities LLANE & Co. currently represents. At Soleil Belmont Park in Canton, a 55+ buyer can live near the growing communities of North Atlanta while maintaining an independent resort lifestyle built around a clubhouse, pool, fitness, pickleball, tennis, gardens and an active social calendar. At Soleil Summit Chase in Snellville, the same concept is playing out in Gwinnett County, where low-maintenance living is paired with fitness, pickleball, walking trails, gathering spaces and resident programming.
At Lake Society on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, family time can become part of the amenity story itself. The 55+ lakefront community includes community docks and 134 boat slips, pools, a racquet club, walking trails, lakeside gathering spaces and a clubhouse with restaurant dining.
“Think about the difference between telling your grandchildren you moved to be closer to them and telling them you moved to the lake,” Lane said. “You can be near your family and still create a life they want to come be part of.”
Lane also cautions builders against assuming every Baby Chaser wants an age-restricted community. Gin Property in Historic Senoia, for example, offers another model: new cottages and townhomes within a walkable historic setting near shops, restaurants and Main Street.
“Some buyers absolutely want the full active-adult experience,” Lane said. “Others want a smaller or lower-maintenance home in a walkable community where they remain surrounded by different generations. The common denominator isn’t necessarily 55-plus. It’s being close to family without giving up the way you want to live.”
A Second Wave of Housing Demand
Lane believes the Baby Chaser concept matters because it demonstrates how one generation’s migration can potentially influence another’s.
When Atlanta attracts younger professionals, those households buy homes, establish careers and raise families.
Years later, their parents may begin looking at Atlanta through an entirely different lens.
“One household can influence another,” Lane said. “When the kids choose Atlanta, Mom and Dad may start looking here too. That creates an opportunity for builders who understand not only who their buyer is, but why that buyer is considering Georgia in the first place.”
For active-adult builders, the implication is particularly significant.
Marketing a community solely around the home itself may miss the larger reason a prospective buyer is considering the market. The emotional story may begin with family, but the community still has to give the buyer a compelling life of their own.
What Atlanta’s Ranking Means for Homebuilders
Zonda’s Baby Chaser Index is ultimately about demographic patterns, but Lane sees a very practical takeaway for the housing industry.
Atlanta’s ability to attract younger households may help reinforce housing demand across generations.
That means builders and developers should consider family migration alongside more traditional factors when evaluating the future active-adult buyer.
“The 55+ buyer may be choosing much more than a house,” Lane said. “They may be choosing the ability to see the grandkids on a Tuesday, while still having their own home, their own friends and a lifestyle they love.”
For years, the industry has asked where retirees want to live.
Atlanta’s new Baby Chaser ranking suggests the answer may increasingly begin with another question:
Where does their family already live?
