Now that our aging population has visibly become a force to be reckoned with, many homebuilders are finding that older adults are a potent market. But home builders often tend to miss out on the market by focusing more on the home (which is, after all, what builders sell), rather than lifestyle (which is what drives most of sales activity in an adult lifestyle community).
Many real estate developers and home builders operate from the misconception that mature buyers prefer to live in homes that are affordable and focus on pricing their homes as low as possible, believing that product and price are what drives the sale. And surely there are adult lifestyle customers for whom price is a primary consideration. But most potential residents of an adult lifestyle community are looking for three things: adult, lifestyle, and community.
Buyers in adult communities want to be sure that the community they are considering moving to is indeed an “adult” community. As such, many of these communities are age restricted, with a set of hard and fast rules that exclude children from moving into them. Of course, in jurisdictions that don’t allow age discrimination, there are other ways to “restrict” who moves. This could range from so-called restrictive covenants recorded on the property title to rules about the permanent number of residents that can occupy any dwelling unit (usually no more than two) under a condominium corporation or rental agreement. Ultimately, the best method of maintaining the integrity of an adult lifestyle community is to offer homes designed specifically for an older child demographic. The market will take care of the rest.
Some builders want to hedge their bets by offering large two-story homes in adult communities, figuring they would appeal to younger baby boomers who still have kids at home. This fallacy appeals neither to younger baby boomers who don’t want to live in a majority-senior community, nor to active adults seeking a child-free lifestyle.
As stated above, one of the most important considerations on the part of the buyer in an adult community has to do with lifestyle. Many people in their 50s and 60s who are retired or semi-retired have a lot of free time and a plethora of interests that they are passionate about. Many are very into golf and look for communities that are close to golf courses. Many like personal fitness and seek out communities that provide exercise facilities. There are almost as many interests as there are individuals looking to live the adult lifestyle. Those communities that recognize this important fact tend to do very well, while those that don’t, not so much.
Finally, active adults tend to be highly social and seek to live in a community where they find others of similar interests and values. Many of these communities have organized activities, such as a bridge club, a golf club, round-robin tennis tournaments, or group projects such as quilting or knitting. The feeling of being part of a community of like-minded people is truly one of the most important aspects of a successful adult lifestyle community. These are the reasons why a community clubhouse is probably one of the most important amenities any adult lifestyle community could offer. And the greater the variety of amenities and interests, the more people will be drawn to live there.
