Small is beautiful: homebuilders target baby boomers who want to live it up in cozier digs, minus the yardwork.

• Author: Duckwall, Jane
• Position: Statewide: BUSINESS NEWS FROM ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA

Dave Marcelli and his wife, Marsha, lived in a south Charlotte home for 28 years. But after their two children grew up and moved out, the two-and-a-half story house on a half-acre lot seemed too big. "It had a lot of space we weren't using," Marcelli says. "And it was expensive to keep up." So, the Marcellis did what many baby boomers are doing: They moved into a smaller house in a community designed for people age 55 and older.

As Americans born between 1946 and 1964 downsize, Epcon Communities, Shea Homes and other builders are developing neighborhoods in North Carolina to appeal to active empty nesters. The state represents a great market for so-called boomer housing, attracting many people from the Northeast and Midwest who want a warmer climate but find Florida too hot or crowded, or want to be closer to their children and grandchildren who have landed in the state. North Carolina ranks fourth nationally for in-migration of people age 50 or older, says Doug Dickerson, director of AARP North Carolina, which lobbies for senior citizens. The state now has more than 2.7 million residents age 55 or older--a group expected to increase by almost 40% and make up a third of the state's population by 2035.

With the baby-boom population aging and credit conditions still limiting new housing starts, the U.S. is likely to be 360,000 homes short of meeting demand for low-maintenance housing by 2019, according to a study by Epcon, Charlotte-based Metrostudy research firm and Builder magazine. Epcon, a Dublin, Ohio-based homebuilder, is among those jumping on the trend, aiming to attract some of the 11,000 people who turn 55 each day, says Lisa Douglas, a regional sales manager in Charlotte. "This segment of the market is the place to be. We can't keep up with demand. We have so many customers wanting what we offer: maintenance-free, ranch-style homes."

As anyone who has seen Eddie Van Halen, 60, or Bruce Springsteen, 65, in concert recently can attest, baby boomers are rewriting the rules of retirement. Jay Seymoure, general manager for Shea Homes' new Trilogy Lake Norman community, calls those targeted by his company "zoomers" because of their zest for life and, often, a desire to continue working for enjoyment, rather than financial necessity. "It keeps them younger, keeps them engaged, and keeps them active," he says. Marcelli, 66, still works as a civil engineer after moving in July to Epcon's Courtyards at Weddington Road, where he isn't mowing...