Was 2009 the end of 55+, age-qualified, active adult housing? It certainly was a painful year for builders, developers, and experts like myself, who had expected this market would out-perform the overall housing market during a downturn. Instead, as I note in my Top Ten Take-Aways from IBS, mature homebuyers – primarily discretionary purchasers – exercised their discretion and stayed put.
Active Adult communities have been age-qualified; you must be 55 years old or better to live in one. For years, this type of housing has been a sweet spot.
However, the Baby Boomers were hit hardest of all by the crash of the financial, real estate and employment markets. Now, gone are a willingness to pay for golf course views or useless and expensive upgrades. Is the willingness to live in an age-qualified community gone, too?
Redefining Reetirement Communities
Even before our current economic challenges, Baby Boomers were already redefining retirement, and therefore redefining retirement communities. Tennis courts were being replaced by business centers. Bonus rooms were used as home offices. Research we conducted for Central Parke 55+ Resort Communities led to the establishment of an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) campus at their Victoria Falls community.
As I wrote for the 50+ Housing Magazine in 2007,
What’s next? At this year’s International Builders Show (IBS), industry experts told me the future was in:
- Urban infill
- Co-housing
- Aging-in-place
- University-affiliated senior housing
- Intergenerational communities
Everyone seemed to have a different opinion of where the industry would go. I think that they are all right, and I’m not even a politician. I say The Active Adult Market is Dead – Long Live the Active AdultS MarketS.
The Baby Boom is a generation of roughly 78 million. The US 50+ population is becoming increasingly diverse. One size of housing will not fit all; indeed, it never has.
For builders and developers, the challenge is to define which 50+ subgroup you’re targeting, and to take steps to truly understand them. Hire a good market research agency. Comb through your database. That prospect on your list is in a different place, economically and psychologically, than they were in 2008 or 2009. Conduct new surveys and listening sessions to understand what they now need and desire.
What do you think? What is the future of active adult housing? What can builders, developers and mature marketers do to thrive in a world with many different active adults marketS?
I wonder what the industry experts mean by “co-housing”? There are lots of different versions around. I certainly see the possibility that individuals will choose to share their homes with people who aren’t family members. Remember this is the generation that came into adulthood in the heyday of communes. Many of us still like the idea of community living.
Aging-in-place also has possibilities for sharing housing. Younger people living with older folks to do some of the basics: shopping, cleaning, shoveling driveways, taking out the trash… Could be great for both parties.
Annamarie,
Co-housing is a term that captures all of the possibilities that you mentioned and more. The main force behind the movement is that the vast majority of retires simply can not afford to live in a full service retirement community, nor can they, or do they care to, maintain their own home. A secondary motivation is the enhanced socialization opportunities and shared care giving that co-housing provides.
With so many elders living into their 80′s and beyond, communities that know that niche will do well. Offering homeownership with low or no maintenance will continue to sell. Seniors that first retired to an Active Adult community or a high maintenance acreage often find they need more help as they enter the “older senior” demographic. This age group want social opportunities, transportation and home-health care services available when they need it. Knowing your specific demographic is essential for providing a marketable product.
Thanks for sharing this research. The recession is inspiring many Boomers and their adult children to rethink the old model of children growing up and away from home. In fact, many nests are refilling and I wonder how quickly they’ll empty again? Boomers always invested a lot in their kids, and many have established close relationships with their adult children into their 20′s and 30′s. Perhaps the balance of support will shift from Boomer parents taking care of kids/grandkids in their homes, to adult kids taking care of Boomer Grandma and Grandpa–all in the same home over time. We’re doing some fresh research on this at VibrantNation.com that I’ll be presenting on Thursday, March 18 at ASA (American Society of Aging…)
I believe the growing trend will be aging in place “villages” or NORC’s, naturally occurring retirement communities.
With more older Americans choosing to stay in their homes and with a growing commitment for community service, this type of “elder care” is starting to gather traction.
Read more about this neighbor helping neighbor service:
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2010/February/09/elder-villages.aspx
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Taking care of aging parents and raising kids at the same time has been challenging. I wish the market for intergenerational communities was further along. It is difficult to find adequate housing that comfortably fits adults, kids (under 18) and the grandparents–especially if you want to maintain some privacy for the different generations. It can get costly to get the needed space for everyone living under one roof. Or, you have to move far away from the community where you have put down roots.
The best bet seems to be adding on to an existing home. Perhaps separate sleeping areas with common eating and gathering areas.
Hopefully the builders and developers will catch up soon. There has to better housing solutions out there.
The demographics haven’t changed – the country is continuing to get older with the “seniors” population burgeoning. Yet, owners, operators, builders and developers of not only 55+ Active Adult Housing as well as traditional senior living communities (independent living retirement centers and assisted living facilities + CCRC’s) must WAKE UP and realize that we must adapt to the times and demands of our potential clientele. The formula that worked for the “Greatest Generation” is inadequate for the Bobby-soxers and future Baby Boomers. Read more under the “Wake up Call” category on the Progressive Retirement Lifestyles blog: http://progressiveretirement.wordpress.com/
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[...] Most people don’t want to move at all and would prefer to age in place. In 2009, this desire helped turn active adult housing from a sweet spot into a question mark. Boomers and beyond stayed put. [...]
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