Glenn Kelman, the CEO of Redfin, the national real estate brokerage, calls what his industry is facing “a slow-moving disaster.”

“Prices keep going up, but housing inventory remains very low,” Kelman says.

The obvious problem for young adults seeking to purchase a home is that mortgage rates are exceptionally high relative to rates during the pandemic.

“Nobody wants to give up a 3% mortgage,” Kelman says.

Actually, there is one group willing to surrender a low-rate home loan in order to make a move: retirees. These are equity-rich homeowners who can sell and afford to buy their next property with an all-cash offer that precludes the need for a new mortgage.

“Some willing sellers are sitting pretty right now. That’s because there’s currently a tremendous shortage of available listings in many metro areas and property values continue to climb,” says Sid Davis, a real estate broker and author of “A Survival Guide to Selling a Home.”

Although the numbers often work well for older people attempting to sell and buy anew, many struggle with the decision-making process as they attempt to find the best possible retirement community they can afford.

Ronald Phipps, a past president of the National Association of Realtors (nar.realtor), suggests retirees view any destination they’re considering through a wide-angle lens.

“The right location is still the first and most important rule of real estate,” Phipps says.

Now more than ever, he urges retirees planning a home purchase to factor airport access into their selection of a community. Living within a 50-to-60-mile radius of a major airport typically means lower-cost flights and greater ease of travel -- important factors for many retired people.

“If you live near an air hub and miss the 9 a.m. flight, you won’t have to wait to the next day to get a plane out. Also, your friends and family will probably visit more often if you have good air service,” Phipps says.

Moreover, he contends that buying a home in a metro area with frequent air flights gives you the best odds for future appreciation. And he believes that cities with international air service, a lure for foreign property purchasers, could be your strong resale bet in the years ahead.

Here are a few more pointers to consider prior to picking your retirement destination:

-- Factor personal interests into any retirement purchase.

Obviously, those heading into retirement should focus on the market strength of any area they’re considering. But Phipps says they should also think seriously about whether a setting will serve their lifestyle preferences.

“If you’re into acting, moving to a town with no theater opportunities would be incredibly frustrating. It wouldn’t matter much that the town had infinite opportunities for golf and tennis,” Phipps says.

Have you been so busy during your working years that you’ve barely focused on designing your retirement? If that’s the case, you might consider engaging the services of a life coach.

“A life coach can be a good sounding board, helping ideas bubble up in the course of the conversation. This can help you crystallize your thinking,” Davis says.

One way to locate a certified life coach is through the International Coaching Federation (coachingfederation.org). Once at that website, look for coaches in your area who specialize in retirement planning.

-- Make sure your financial situation is as solid as possible.

Jeffrey Wuorio, a personal finance specialist, says many older people underestimate their expected life spans as well as the financial wherewithal they’ll need to cover their expenses for all the years they’re likely to live.

“Research shows that if you and your spouse have already lived to age 60, at least one of you can expect to live to at least 90. That means you will need substantial savings for a comfortable lifestyle going forward,” says Wuorio, author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Retirement Planning.”

-- Consider a lengthy preview of any distant location of interest.

As Wuorio notes, people considering a move to a distant area are wise to spend some time there before buying property in the community. That could help you avoid a costly mistake.

“It’s a great idea to take a vacation to any town where you might buy a home. Or consider taking a temporarily rental there before buying,” he says.

One helpful way to learn about a new area is to strike up conversations with local residents, asking about opportunities to pursue your personal interests in the community. You may also want to ask about local educational options, including the chance to take classes or attend lectures at a local college or university.

“Planning your personal activities for retirement is just as important as saving enough money to make your lifestyle viable,” Wuorio says.

-- Don’t rule out buying a smaller place in the same area where you now live.

One potential option for retirement-age homebuyers is to downsize within the same metro area where they have established friendships. For example, you might choose to sell your 3,000-square-foot family home and buy a much smaller condo in a neighboring suburb. That could help you hang on to long-held ties.

With more time on their hands, many retirees find that friendships have a deeper meaning than before, Wuorio says. And many older people who move to a distant locale for retirement find it hard to make new friends.

“Unless you’re a person who has a knack for making new friends quickly, you could be better off moving within the same area where you now live rather than moving far away -- no matter how good the climate is in some dream destination,” he says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

It all started last Christmas. That’s when a retired couple in their early 80s were confronted by their grown children at a family gathering. The offspring insisted it was time for the couple to move before a health crisis befell them.

“Though we’ve loved our colonial for more than four decades, it has no bedroom or bath on the first floor. So we know it’s only a matter of time before one of us falls down the stairs and breaks a hip,” the wife says.

Methodically, the couple went about searching for the right retirement community. That was much easier than clearing through their vast collection of accumulations, which included heirlooms and valued antiques. Indeed, the decluttering process consumed huge amounts of their time and energy.

“Finally, finally, finally we’re ready to put the place up for sale. But our biggest regret was all the months we spent going through our possessions -- including mementos from our many trips to Asia and Africa. We wasted so much time trying to decide what to keep or give away. At our age there isn’t that much time left to waste,” the wife says.

Ironically, the couple’s son -- a thoracic surgeon embarking on an out-of-state move -- spent far less time sorting through the clutter in his own mid-century-modern house. His property sold quickly in July.

Housing specialists notice a striking difference between the mobility patterns of young adults and those of their aging parents.

Alex Cernik, a real estate agent in Arlington, Virginia, says sellers under 40 mobilize for a move much more quickly than do older people.

“The career patterns of younger people are much different than those of older folks. They’re more used to making major job changes that involve relocation. Also, they’re less inclined to cling to their stuff,” Cernik says.

A real estate agent since 2015, he made a recent move himself, from a rented condo to a small house. To accelerate the process, he quickly cleared through his huge collection of clothes, along with numerous books.

“I simply put everything in trash bags and donated it all to Goodwill. I didn’t suffer any inner conflict about what to keep and what to let go,” says Cernik, 37.

He says anyone planning to sell a home should definitely declutter to maximize their profits.

“It’s extremely hard for buyers to appreciate a property that’s loaded with excess belongings, especially if there are stacks and layers of things covering the floors,” according to Cernik.

Martha Webb, a home-selling expert and author of “Dress Your House for Success,” says that in terms of clutter, the younger and the older generations accumulate different types of belongings.

“Young adults live more casually and own more technology ... They also have a lot of activity gear. ... In contrast, older home sellers have more memorabilia and collections they’ve hung on to for years,” Webb says.

But sellers from all generations share one thing in common. They face the laborious issue of decluttering their home to make it appealing to buyers who greatly prefer a place that’s clean and clear. Any sellers who fail to clear their property usually suffer a financial penalty.

“A cluttered house doesn’t sell well because it feels chaotic, and buyers don’t want your chaos,” says Webb, a real estate agent in Minnesota who specializes in luxury home sales.

Are you selling a home in the near future and feel intimidated by the volume of decluttering you must do? If so, these few pointers could prove helpful:

-- Expedite your campaign with creative ideas.

Professional organizers routinely advise those involved in decluttering to take a break every few hours. That helps prevent the beleaguered feeling that comes from trying to take on an entire room all at once or, worse, the whole house.

Stephanie Calahan, a longtime professional organizer, recommends preparing a comprehensive written plan. Or you could start with a single part of one room, using a flashlight to define how large an area you’ll tackle at a given time.

“In the midst of a big decluttering project, the flashlight allows you to focus mentally on a single area,” she says.

Once your units of work have been defined, Calahan suggests you allocate a fixed amount of time to declutter each area and then, with the help of a stopwatch, see if you can “beat the clock.”

-- Consider a clutter-busting blitz if time is short.

If the home you’re planning to sell has bursting closets and disorder throughout, there’s no way a single person or couple can deal properly with the problem without devoting many days or even several weeks to the task, says Vicki Norris, a professional organizer who lectures nationally on the subject (restoringorder.com).

But, as Norris says, one solution is to add extra hands to the task and then to conduct an all-out blitz. Many organizing firms can mobilize a team on short notice. You can find one in your area through the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (napo.net).

Alternatively, you may be able to recruit a team of friends or relatives to help create order from chaos in your property. Whether you hire organizers or seek out volunteers, Norris says you should bring in no more than four to five people and designate a leader.

Obviously, if you’re energetic and have lots of time, you can handle the whole project yourself.

“The only difference with a blitz is that you blast through the house faster. This is basically decluttering on steroids,” Norris says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

For months, a couple in their late 60s, an author married to a retired accountant, has been engaged in a spirited debate about their housing plans. Should they stay in the Victorian house where they’ve lived for more than 30 years and raised their kids? Or should they move to a one-level condo where they could better age in place?

The debate started in earnest when the couple’s grown son, a biotech specialist, got a promotion to work in Berkeley. That meant the son’s family, including two granddaughters, would move to a pricey part of California -- miles away from the grandparents’ place.

The son’s move raised numerous questions for the older couple. Would it be financially prudent for them to sell the Victorian, uproot themselves and move to the more expensive area? Also, if they lived near the grandkids, would they like becoming the de facto caregivers for the children?

The couple worries that the present period would be an inopportune time to put their property up for sale, given that the low mortgage rate they obtained through refinancing three years ago would have to be replaced with a much more costly home loan on a new condo in California.

Eric Tyson, a personal finance expert, doesn’t know the couple facing this vexing issue. But he insists there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to their conundrum.

“When you make a major housing move at any age, it’s not just your money at stake. It’s also your psychological well-being and what works for you in terms of your overall lifestyle,” says Tyson, co-author of “Personal Finance After 50 for Dummies.”

The author and retired accountant are convinced they’d make a healthy profit selling their house, located in a coveted suburb near Washington, D.C. After all, properties in their neighborhood are currently fetching significantly higher prices than they were prior to the pandemic.

Economists at Zillow, the national real estate firm, estimate that the total value of all the U.S. housing stock is now 49% higher than it was in early 2020.

But home values are expected to continue rising in coming years, given the extreme shortage of available properties in many metro areas. Demand for homes from the millennial generation is outstripping the supply of available properties. That’s because many seniors are holding back from selling.

“There’s a major mismatch between the generations,” Tyson says.

Here are a few pointers for seniors torn about selling versus staying put:

-- Always factor lifestyle into your decision making.

Cary Carbonaro, a certified financial planner, notes that some older parents of grown children relish the idea of downscaling to a smaller place that imposes fewer upkeep demands.

Still, Tyson cautions empty nesters, especially those with a sentimental streak, against clinging to the big house with the uncertain hope it will become the hub for many extended family gatherings.

Perhaps your children will marry and move to a distant state, coming to visit you only occasionally during summer vacations or possibly at Thanksgiving.

“Do you want to rattle around all year in a house too big for you just so you can entertain your kids eight or 10 days a year?” Tyson asks.

-- Gain perspective by seeking outside advice.

“Most financial planners aren’t set up to deal with specific issues, such as what to do with the family house when the kids have moved away,” Tyson says.

However, by going through a professional group, such as the National Association of Personal Financial Planners (napfa.org), you can locate a planner you can hire for just a few hours to discuss your empty-nest housing issues.

Tyson recommends seeking out advice from a certified public accountant who has also been trained as a personal financial specialist (PFS). The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants awards this designation.

-- Make sure your plans allow for financial comfort.

Obviously, many people reach the kids-are-gone stage with years left in their careers and a strong desire to continue working. But that doesn’t mean they can afford to be oblivious to their future needs for retirement income.

If you’re in this category, and your home has appreciated substantially, selling could open the way for investments that are potentially more lucrative.

“I’m talking about freeing up money from your current house by moving to a property that has a smaller mortgage and is less expensive to maintain,” Tyson says.

If your offspring are still in college or grad school, you may have pledged that you’ll cover the full cost of their tuition payments. Still, there could be alternatives open to you.

You might want to meet with financial aid officers at your students’ schools to discuss alternative ways to help offset their tuition costs. For example, maybe they’d be eligible for scholarships, fellowships or work-study programs you didn’t know about previously.

“You’ll have more housing options open to you if you don’t saddle yourself with large educational expenses,” Tyson says.

-- Avoid postponing tough housing decisions.

Some people appreciate the expanded freedom that comes with an empty-nest life. But others are depressed after the last child leaves.

“A lot of times, people are in denial. They run away from making hard choices, such as whether to sell the big house and move,” Tyson says.

He says those in a funk about their new status as empty nesters can squander several years failing to explore and consider alternatives to staying put in their current home.

“It’s a huge mistake to rush into a decision about selling your home. But postponing your plans is also a really bad idea,” Tyson says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)