> Boomers Were Supposed to Downsize. They Are Buying Bigger Homes Instead.

Angela and Victor Martino raised their two daughters decades ago in a ranch house measuring less than 2,000 square feet. The empty-nesters recently bought the 5,000-square-foot house next door.

After a year-long renovation, the Denair, Calif., home has a huge kitchen with space for the commercial meat slicer that Victor uses to cut a leg of prosciutto at family events. There is a playroom with polished concrete floors meant to withstand damage from their seven grandchildren. The primary bathroom tub has features to help them get in and out more easily as they get older.

“We’ll downsize when they plant me 6 feet into the ground,” said Victor, 64.

Well-off boomers are increasingly upsizing their homes as they age, either buying bigger ones or financing additions to their existing properties. They are building guesthouses for family members and gourmet kitchens for entertaining, alongside such features as high-end grab bars and first-floor primary bedrooms for aging in place.

Baby boomers and those who are older hold around $110 trillion in total wealth, far more than younger Americans. Many bought homes and stocks decades ago and have benefited from the appreciation of those assets.

This year, eight of the clients of Merrill Lynch financial adviser April Tardiff retired. Every single one of them upsized. Only one client has downsized in the past five years.