Not around here. RE always goes up over time. Buy low sell high as they say. 
From the UK. Reality of falls.
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No, not possible.
I do think this is a big differentiator.
I haven’t finished the book, but that’s not what the book is about IMO.
Of course not. It’s just a stat that stood out to me. Didnt realize that falls led to such a sharp decline in health.
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Being female is such a high risk factor for falls, sadly.
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Why?
Loss of bone mineral density is more pronounced in females—estrogen loss exacerbates it.
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According to Peer Reviewed: How Active Are Older Americans? - PMC , women tend to exercise less than men, which is likely to be a factor in lower bone density and muscle mass in women beyond the effects of testosterone and estrogen. Lower bone density makes falls more dangerous, and lower muscle mass increases the risk of falling.
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Not in my house! I have low bone density but I out exercise my husband many times fold! and honestly, most women my age I know are similar. They exercise much more than their husbands
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I think there are lots of reasons—it may not be less exercise per se, but less load-bearing exercise. Lifting heavy stuff can put stress on bones in a way that preserves density. Not enough women lift heavy. I see this at the gym all the time. I’ve only become recently interested in this topic—but my own grandmother experienced such severe bone loss that, at the end of her life, she would fracture vertebrae by sitting down too quickly.
I don’t mean to veer too far from the conversation about stairs, so to bring it back, having a growing understanding of my risk for a serious fall has made me more aware of situations where I could avoid them. One of those is stairs in a house. Definitely want to keep lifting and watching my dexa scans but why tempt fate if I don’t have to? That’s why I would prioritize a single story or a two story with a first floor bedroom/den and full bath.
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When we bought our second home, intending it to be an eventual only, retirement, home, one selling point was that two bedrooms and a full bath are on the first floor. Though we use the upstairs bedroom now, it’s good to know we can move down if necessary.
My mom, in retirement, and earlier, stressed the idea that stairs meant she’d get some exercise. The retirement home she bought in her late sixties had only a half bath downstairs and no reasonable way to make any room downstairs a bedroom. In her eighties, the stairs started to defeat her. She fell several times. Finally, very weak, she decided to buy a complicated chair lift system which she could not really afford (stairs were in two half-flights so needed two separate chairs).
The pieces were delivered but not yet installed when she died. I sometimes think she’d have fought harder to live if she hadn’t felt defeated by her house. The stair system remained in boxes in the garage.
Though we didn’t know all this when we bought our “retirement” home, I am grateful that we will have more options. If we don’t move there full-time, any place we do will not have required stairs after seeing mom’s experience.
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That’s what I’ve read, that while not reversible, one can improve their bone density through diet, exercise, specifically strength training, supplements, monitoring and medications.
The UK article was quite clear about the many factors contributing to falls, including low blood pressure, arthritis, etc. 40% of nursing home admissions were attributed to hip fractures following a fall, and 80% of the senior women surveyed said they would rather die than suffer a hip fracture and nursing home admission.
Seems rather stark to me, but people can play the odds as they wish.
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I am turning 63 next week. I feel really good. This thread is making me feel old. 
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When we sold our two-story colonial in the Boston burbs and moved to AZ in our early 40s, we only considered single-story houses thinking, even at that time, that this would be our final house. We chose to move to AZ specifically for retirement and evaluated all properties for aging in place. We’ve moved since then (and may again), but only to another single-story house for all the reasons listed above. But, both AZ houses have three full baths and one half-bath on those single floors. It’s critical to me that there is never any contention for a bathroom by anyone at any time of day or night. As important as single-story living is for me, bathrooms rank higher on my list.
Above, I posted a single “No” to the OP’s question, but that’s just my perspective. As with all decisions, there is no one right answer for everyone. Given that life can change and houses can be sold, there is no reason to feel trapped by a stair decision. If you can go either way at this stage of your health, I’d focus primarily on buying the property that checks most of the boxes on your “must-have” and “wants” lists. Stairs aren’t a deal-breaker for everyone.
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We bought a house with three levels the year Mr. B turned 60. That was a while ago. We sleep on the top level, eat and “live” on the ground level, and then there is a fully finished basement where we exercise and have our offices. Shortly after moving here, I had a hip surgery to repair a torn labrum, and navigating stairs with crutches was quite manageable. If we end up staying here for another 15-20 years, we might consider converting our main floor library into a bedroom. We shall see. That said, I have a feeling that if my husband gets injured, it will not be on the stairs but in our dang forest that he enjoys taking care of. So to make the long story short, yes, I would buy a house with stairs and bedrooms on top floor.
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Our cabin has stairs. The forest is definitely more dangerous. I hung this sign next to our lower-level door:
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Nope
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