When it comes to statistics, housing economists are hyper-focused on two age groups: millennials and baby boomers. A look at data makes it obvious why this is the case. Each year, 12 percent of millennials move, and 3.4 percent of boomers move.

Lost in the statistical shuffle are those age 75 and older. Why are they so often overlooked by real estate analysts? Because each year, just 1.6 percent of people in this age group move.

“A large portion of elderly people are aging in place rather than moving in their later years,” according to Taylor Marr, a data scientist for Redfin, a national real estate brokerage and data analysis company.

But when older seniors do move, the transition can be wrenching, especially for those who’ve long resided in a property chock full of possessions and memories.

“For elderly people, a move often constitutes a crisis ignited by a health or financial reversal,” says Joan McLellan Tayler, a longtime real estate author and realty company owner.

Tayler says elderly people typically turn to grown kids for help when moving. But even if the parents don’t ask for help, the kids often interject themselves, usually with the best of intentions.

“But the grown kids are no substitute for a really skillful and empathic real estate pro,” she says.

One agent specializing in assisting senior sellers of all ages is Diana Gaydon. She recommends helping elders by lining up listing appointments with at least three agents and then sitting in on the interviews.

“Look for an agent who’s empathic and a great listener,” says Gaydon, who holds the designation of “Seniors Real Estate Specialist,” conferred by the National Association of Realtors.

Here are a few pointers for those helping elderly parents make a major move:

-- Honor your parents’ attachment to their home.

“Young people are accustomed to casting off possessions when they move ... But their grandparents weren’t raised that way,” Tayler says.

For the elderly, sorting through possessions can be exhausting.

“What’s a treasure and what’s junk? Separating items into those categories can be tremendously tedious,” Tayler says.

But while the children of elderly parents can be very helpful in a housing transition, Tayler says it’s unwise for them to become involved in the sorting and culling process.

“Family members are never totally objective. That can result in heated arguments that are painful for all concerned,” she says.

Instead, she recommends that senior home sellers engage the help of a professional organizer. One source for referrals is the National Association of Professional Organizers (www.napo.net). For a lesser fee, (perhaps $10 to $20 an hour), your parents can likely find an energetic college student or recent grad by posting a classified ad.

-- Promise your parents you’ll respect their prized possessions.

One way to help smooth the transition for your parents is to guarantee you’ll safeguard their valuables during the interim period in which their home is shown to the public, Gaydon says.

“For example, you might tell them you’ll take those coveted photos they have hanging on the wall and place them in a nice box ... until their house is sold,” she says.

-- Show sensitivity in helping parents dispose of excess belongings.

Conducting an estate sale to break up the family household might sound like a good idea. After all, the professional firm holding the sale will give your parents a percentage of the revenues they bring in.

But the unsentimental manner in which such a sale is conducted could easily hurt your parents’ feelings. It can be painful to overhear strangers haggling over the price of items you’ve owned and valued for decades, Tayler says.

As an alternative, she recommends you ask your parents for the names of their favorite charities and arrange to have their giveaways taken there. (Valuable antiques and art can be sold through a dealer or an online company such as eBay.)

“Donating to a charity you believe in can be a positive experience,” Tayler says.

-- Use tact when addressing your parents on needed home updates.

Those who’ve lived in the same home for a long time are often very comfortable with their décor, no matter how dated, and think prospective buyers should feel the same way. But their grown kids typically agree with the listing agent that the home should be updated to more contemporary standards before it goes on the market.

The problem is that you could face a lot of resistance if you try to push your parents into replacing their still-functioning burnt-gold refrigerator. Likewise, they might rebuff you if you demand that they have their 20-year-old turquoise carpeting torn up and replaced with a neutral beige carpet.

Instead, try quiet reasoning and persuasion in hopes of convincing them to follow your recommendations and those of their listing agent.

“Never attempt to belittle or shame your parents into the home improvements needed for a successful sale. That can backfire big time,” Tayler says.

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

No, after selling their suburban manse, Grandma and Grandpa won’t necessarily wish to live in a compact apartment in a retirement community, where they’ll spend their days playing bridge and pickle ball.

Many boomers are sitting on enough home equity from homes they’ve owned for many years to give them a range of housing options, says Ken Dychtwald, an expert on aging trends.

Dychtwald, co-author of “Age Wave” and several other books on seniors, says boomers are "comfortable with change and moving. And they’re determined to make their own choices.”

Stan Hinden, author of “How to Retire Happy,” has two words of advice for those on the cusp of retirement: Plan ahead.

“Where you live is very definitely a key component to a good retirement,” says Hinden, a retired Washington Post financial reporter.

Are you planning to move after retiring? If so, these few pointers could prove useful:

-- Balance the preferences of both you and your partner.

If you’re retiring on a limited fixed income, you may have no choice but to downsize to a smaller, less expensive home. But if you’ve accumulated more substantial retirement funds, you and your spouse likely have more housing options. And that means you may need to reconcile differences of opinion.

Rosemary McMonigal, a residential architect who’s advised clients for more than two decades, recommends that couples with differing views create priority lists and acknowledge the validity of each other’s preferences.

Though most retiring couples favor a smaller property, McMonigal says it’s not unusual for one member of a pair to prefer a larger habitat.

If you and your spouse disagree on how large a home to buy, McMonigal suggests you let go of preconceptions and find a way to accommodate both your needs.

-- Avoid buying a place with superfluous rooms.

McMonigal is an advocate of the “not so big home” philosophy espoused by widely quoted architect and author Sarah Susanka, who contends that homeowners are happier when they live in a place no larger than what they actually use.

Beginning around the 1980s, McMonigal says buyers “pushed for bigger spaces, the roomier the better.” But she believes it’s wise for buyers to target a property that meets their realistic wants and needs.

For instance, she says buyers should question the commonly held notion that a home should have multiple dining areas, including a formal dining room, an in-kitchen eating area and an informal dining room off the kitchen.

“Are you really going to use all those dining areas? Most people never do,” she says.

McMonigal also suggests you challenge the common assumption that you’ll need a dedicated media room and a huge master suite complete with an adjoining sitting room and a spacious master bathroom.

“Most people don’t have the time or inclination to use a sitting room for conversation or reading. Realistically, one large armchair in the master bedroom is enough. And media rooms usually go unused,” she says.

-- Seek out a place with intimate rooms if you buy a supersized house.

Would you prefer to downsize, but have agreed with your spouse to purchase a large property?

In that case, Ashley Richardson, a longtime real estate agent affiliated with the Council of Residential Specialists (www.crs.com), recommends you seek a home that seems intimate despite its large size.

“You don’t want to feel you’re rattling around in an oversized place that seems lonely, especially when you’re there by yourself,” Richardson says.

To find a large home where you’ll feel comfortable, she recommends you avoid a property with a two-story atrium or ceilings that soar 10 feet or higher. Likewise, avoid a home with an oversized formal living room you’re unlikely to use often.

“The coziest arrangement is to have your big family room right off the kitchen, because people spend most of their time in the kitchen area,” Richardson says.

-- Don’t assume that a place you buy upon retirement will be your last home.

Many people assume that when they buy a home for retirement they’ll live there indefinitely. But Dychtwald says it’s common for buyers in their 60s to live in two or three more places during their retirement years.

Dychtwald says those who want to buy a big home upon retirement often reverse course after they’ve gotten the “dream home phase” out of their systems.

He says someone who early in retirement would like to downsize but accedes to a spouse who wants a big property can take comfort in the expectation that sooner or later the other person will probably also want a small home.

“Sometimes you have to compromise. But that’s not so bad when your next move won’t necessarily become permanent,” Dychtwald says.

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

No matter your age or income level, if you need to get rid of some possessions due to downsizing, you’re likely to be tormented by the process.

Indeed, those at the top of the success ladder often feel the most overwhelmed when they need to purge possessions, says Vicki Norris, author of “Reclaim Your Life ... and Get Organized for Good.”

Norris, who was a real estate agent before she started her own organizing firm two decades ago, says the proliferation of inexpensive imported goods and the ease of buying online have exacerbated the problem, particularly for middle to high-income people.

Ownership of too many possessions isn’t only an emotional burden; it’s also a problem for those who need to make their place appealing to buyers to achieve a successful sale, says Dorcas Helfant, a real estate broker and co-owner of several realty offices.

“Nowadays, buyers want to start fresh in a house that’s free and clear. They can’t picture themselves living in a place jammed with other people’s stuff,” says Helfant, a past president of the National Association of Realtors (realtor.org).

Before embarking on the huge task of getting their property ready for market, she urges sellers to create a timeline and a checklist.

“There’s a lot of emotional turmoil with any move. But you’ll be much better off if you take a strategic, step-by-step approach rather than a disorganized one,” Helfant says.

Here are a few pointers for sellers:

-- Equip yourself with the right gear for the job.

Norris says an efficient decluttering and packing program shouldn’t require a lot of expensive equipment.

In most cases, cardboard boxes should suffice for your move. Ideally, these should be boxes of uniform size -- like the “bankers boxes” sold at office supply stores -- that will stack neatly.

After pre-packing the items you’re determined to take to your next property, place these in your garage or a guest bedroom not currently in use. If possible, Norris urges you to avoid renting a paid storage unit.

“Storage units can be very expensive. People think they’ll just rent one for just two or three months. But due to their inertia, the average rental period is at least 15 months. When your stuff is out of sight, it’s out of mind,” she says.

-- Go room-by-room when decluttering and packing.

Norris says it’s very unnerving to approach a decluttering project by working on several fronts simultaneously. Instead, she advises you to tackle just one room at a time, beginning in the “public” areas of the house that will receive the most scrutiny from prospective buyers. These include your entryway, living room, dining room, family room and kitchen.

-- Take your children’s feelings into account when sifting through their toys.

Children feel an understandable sense of alarm at the notion that many of their toys will be packed up and stored away until the move is complete. As Norris says, they need reassurance that their toys will be available to them once your family reaches its destination.

How can you calm your children’s fears that their toys will be safe?

Norris suggests you involve them in the pre-packing process, making a game out of choosing a few very special toys that can remain in their room until the move is complete and placing the rest in packing boxes.

“Don’t pack their toys behind their back or they could be very upset and freak out. This could make your move even more upsetting,” she says.

-- Allow extra time to clear through your kitchen.

As real estate agents observe, most home shoppers won’t routinely look inside a chest of drawers and examine your clothes. But many will open kitchen cabinets and are very critical of countertop clutter.

“Give the kitchen top priority. No one wants to see that toaster or blender on your counter space,” Norris says.

You won’t want to remove basic kitchen items -- plates, pots, pans and utensils -- until right before you move. But much earlier, you can pack away seasonal and special-use items.

-- Realize that purging can prove cathartic once it’s done.

Few enjoy the arduous chore of sifting through years’ worth of accumulations. This project can be especially unpleasant for those who must move against their will for whatever reason.

But Norris says many who complete the process discover, much to their surprise, that they feel happier when they’re less encumbered with excess belongings.

“It’s an unexpected chance to lighten up and start over,” she says.

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