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dealers with scheduled in-home appoint- ments to aggressively take market share," Hirschhaut said. "The list of marketing assets, selling tools, one-stop-shop prod- ucts, proprietary software, operating sys- tems, etc., is enormous. We truly believe in partnering with our dealers and setting them up for success." Beyond a suite of bath updates, Remodel Direct also provides universally designed products for other key areas of the home, including stair lifts, ramps, motorized window treatments, kitchen cabinet and closet accessibility products. The company is based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, and can be found at remodeldirect.com. Surge in older ddults to increase demand for accessible housing By 2035, more than one in five people in the U.S. will be aged 65 and older, and one in three households will be headed by someone in that age group, according to Projections and Implications for Housing a Growing Population: Older Adults 2015- 2035, a report released by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. This growth, the report notes, will increase the demand for affordable, accessible housing that is well connected to services beyond what current supply can meet. According to the report, as the Baby Boom generation ages, the U.S. population aged 65 and over is expected to grow from 48 million to 79 million, and the number of households headed by someone over 65 will increase by 66 percent, to nearly 50 million. This growth will increase the demand for housing units with universal design elements such as zero-step en- trances, single-floor living, and wide halls and doorways. However, only 3.5 percent of homes offer all three of these features. "The housing implications of this surge in the older adult population are many, and call for innovative approaches to respond to growing need for housing that is affordable, accessible and linked to supportive services that will grow expo- nentially over the next two decades," said Chris Herbert, managing director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. In the coming years, many older adults will have the financial means to pay for ap- propriate housing and supportive services that allow them to live longer in their own homes. However, many others will face financial hardships, particularly because their incomes will decline in retirement. Low-income renters are particularly vul- nerable, notes the report, which projects that nearly 6.4 million low-income renters will be paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing by 2035. The report adds that 11 million home- owners will also be in this position by that time. In total, the report estimates, 8.6 million people will be paying more than half their income for housing by 2035. The report also projects that 7.6 million older adults will have incomes that would qual- ify them for federal rental subsidies by 2035, an increase of 90 percent from 2013. "Today, however, we only serve one- third of those who qualify for assistance," said Jennifer Molinsky, a senior research associate at the Joint Center and lead au- thor of the report. "Just continuing at this rate—which would be a stretch—would leave 4.9 million people to find affordable housing in the private market." The report notes that in many surveys, older adults express a strong desire to live at home for as long as possible. Achieving that goal will require public and private action to support modifications to existing homes, take steps to address the afford- ability challenges facing both owners and renters, and adapting the healthcare system to enhance service delivery in the home. There is also a need to expand the range of housing options available to better meet the needs of an aging popu- lation and improve options for older adults to remain in their community when their current home is no longer suitable. "Right now, more than 19 million older adults live in unaffordable or inadequate housing, and that problem will only grow worse in the next two decades as our population ages," said Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of AARP Foundation, which provided funding for the report. "This important follow-up study to Harvard's groundbreaking 2014 report on housing America's older adults not only calls at- tention to important trends but also helps point to the kinds of solutions—requir- ing cross-sector collaboration between the housing industry, policymakers, and public, private and philanthropic organiza- tions—that will fulfill older adults' ardent desire to continue living independently at home with security and dignity." Agreement expands Wolf's decking distribution in the Midwest Wolf Home Products has announced a new agreement with PrimeSource Building Products to expand the distribu- tion of Wolf 's PVC decking to customers throughout the Midwest. Per the new agreement, PrimeSource will imme- diately expand distribution through its Chicago center, which services dealers in eastern Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and northern Indiana. "Our partnership with PrimeSource has been a successful one," said Robert Lett Sr., Wolf Home Products' vice presi- dent of national sales and marketing. "PrimeSource has shown itself to be a favored distributor in the Midwest, and Wolf has a unique, high-quality product with the supply to keep up with demand in this expanded area." Early in 2016, Wolf Home Products and PrimeSource conducted extensive research on the market and found a wide- spread acceptance of synthetic decking in the Midwest. PrimeSource has been distributing Wolf decking through parts of the Midwest since August 2016 via its Minneapolis distribution center. "This partnership allows us to expand our offering contiguously, and in doing so, to better serve our customers," said Tim Schory, regional vice president for PrimeSource. The U.S. population aged 65 and over is expected to grow from 48 million to 79 million . Projections and Implications for Housing a Growing Population: Older Adults 2015-2035, a report released by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies continued 10 January 2017 QR QualifiedRemodeler.com IN BRIEF