Home Instead Taps Property Brothers to Rebrand the Business of Aging in Place

OMAHA, Neb. — October 12, 2026 — The American housing market is on a collision course with its own demographics. With more than 11,000 Americans reaching the age of 65 every day, the infrastructure required to support an aging population is buckling under the weight of unprecedented demand. Yet, the conversation surrounding elder care remains stubbornly reactive, typically triggered by a sudden medical crisis rather than proactive lifestyle planning.

In a strategic move designed to shift this paradigm, Home Instead—the global home care network operating under the umbrella of Honor Technology—has announced a year-long content partnership with Drew and Jonathan Scott. The collaboration with the ubiquitous HGTV "Property Brothers" hosts represents a calculated attempt to rebrand "aging in place" from a medical necessity to a modern design choice.

By leveraging the Scott brothers' massive digital footprint, which reaches an audience of over 22 million followers, Home Instead is attempting to move its customer acquisition funnel upstream. The initiative will distribute resources, safety tips, and planning advice that blend physical home design modifications with professional in-home care services.

"When families think about preparing a home for the future, they often think first about the physical space. That’s an important place to start, but it’s only part of what makes life at home work," said Kim Atkinson, Chief Brand and Communications Officer at Home Instead. "Drew and Jonathan bring an incredibly approachable perspective on the home. Together, we can help families think earlier about both the spaces they live in and the support they need to live life there on their own terms."

The Universal Design Boom: Reframing the Retrofit

For decades, home accessibility modifications have carried a distinct stigma. Grab bars, stairlifts, and ramps were viewed as clinical intrusions into the private sanctuary of the home. However, as the Baby Boomer generation enters retirement, there is a growing commercial push to integrate these features seamlessly into modern architecture—a concept known in the industry as universal design.

"We’ve always believed a great home should work for the people who live there, not just today, but for years to come," Drew and Jonathan Scott noted in the joint announcement. "That doesn’t always mean a big renovation. Sometimes it’s better lighting, easier-to-reach storage, or simply looking at a familiar space differently. We’re excited to work with Home Instead to give families practical ideas they can start using now while thinking about what they may want their homes to look like in the future."

The strategic rationale behind this partnership is clear: normalize the preparation. Internal survey data from Home Instead indicates that more than 90 percent of adults between the ages of 55 and 75 intend to remain in their current residences as they age. This aligns with broader industry data, including extensive research showing that three-quarters of adults over 50 wish to stay in their current homes.

By framing future-proofing through the lens of aesthetic home improvement, Home Instead bypasses the psychological resistance often associated with elder care. It transforms a daunting conversation about declining mobility into an aspirational discussion about home optimization.

The Silver Tsunami Housing Crunch

Despite the overwhelming preference for aging in place, the reality of the American housing stock presents a formidable barrier. Data from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University paints a stark picture: the United States is fundamentally unprepared to provide adequate housing for its surging elderly population.

Nearly 80 percent of homeowners aged 65 and older live in detached single-family units, the vast majority of which are at least 40 years old. These structures are riddled with hazards for older adults, from steep entry stairs to narrow doorways and inaccessible bathrooms.

Retrofitting these homes is a costly endeavor. While minor modifications like lever handles and improved lighting are relatively inexpensive, substantial universal design renovations require significant capital. Industry estimates indicate that making a home fully wheelchair accessible can cost anywhere from $2,000 to over $60,000. An accessible bathroom remodel routinely ranges between $20,000 and $35,000, while custom stairlifts can exceed $10,000.

These capital expenditures must be weighed against the escalating costs of residential care facilities. The median cost of an assisted living facility in the United States has climbed to approximately $70,800 annually, or roughly $5,900 per month. In this context, a one-time $35,000 renovation to enable aging in place can be financially justified—provided the homeowner does not require round-the-clock medical supervision.

Bridging the Gap: The Operational Engine

Physical modifications alone are rarely sufficient for long-term independence. Eventually, the structural enhancements must be paired with operational support—the precise service Home Instead provides.

As the world's leading provider of home care for older adults, Home Instead operates approximately 1,200 franchise locations across seven countries. Its workforce of more than 100,000 Care Pros delivers over 60 million hours of care annually, offering personal care, companionship, meal preparation, and transportation.

However, the home care industry is grappling with its own systemic crisis: a catastrophic labor shortage. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 760,500 openings annually for home health and personal care aides over the next decade. Caregiver turnover rates frequently hover between 70 and 80 percent, driven by low wages, inconsistent hours, and emotional burnout.

This operational bottleneck was the primary catalyst behind Honor Technology's acquisition of Home Instead in August 2021. The merger created a combined entity with over $2.1 billion in home care services revenue, merging Home Instead's massive franchise network with Honor's proprietary technology platform.

The integration has not been without growing pains. Initial friction arose as franchisees adapted to Honor's centralized scheduling and communication algorithms, which some feared might dilute the high-touch nature of personal care. Yet, the strategic imperative remains intact: use technology to optimize caregiver deployment, improve job satisfaction through predictable scheduling, and ultimately stabilize the workforce.

With the national median cost for home health aide services reaching $75,500 annually—or roughly $33 per hour—efficiency is no longer optional. Honor's platform is designed to maximize the utilization of every available caregiver while providing families with transparent, app-based monitoring of their loved ones' daily routines.

The Commercial Calculus of Early Engagement

The partnership with Drew and Jonathan Scott is a masterclass in top-of-funnel marketing. In the traditional home care business model, agencies are forced to compete for clients at the point of crisis—a fall, a sudden illness, or a hospital discharge. At this stage, decisions are rushed, and brand loyalty is secondary to immediate availability.

By engaging consumers through digital media, social channels, and a dedicated online hub, Home Instead is initiating the relationship years before the acute need arises. A family that begins by following the Scott brothers' advice on installing better task lighting or curbless showers is subtly introduced to the Home Instead ecosystem. When the time inevitably comes to hire a Care Pro for meal preparation or daily companionship, Home Instead is already a trusted, familiar brand.

While the current collaboration focuses strictly on educational content and practical guidance, the commercial runway is expansive. The Scott Brothers Global portfolio includes vast home improvement and furnishing lines. It is not difficult to envision a future where licensed, aesthetically pleasing universal design products are directly integrated into these lifestyle platforms, fully closing the loop between home renovation and senior care.

For now, the initiative serves as a critical bridge. It acknowledges that preparing for the future requires more than just capital and caregivers; it requires a fundamental shift in how families communicate about aging. By bringing these conversations out of the hospital room and into the living room, Home Instead and the Property Brothers are betting that the future of elder care looks less like an institution, and more like home.