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Seniors Buy Maintenance-Free Homes Close to Current Address

Three-quarters of prospective home buyers aged 50 and up are looking for a home that provides yard or grounds service and takes care of exterior home maintenance, according to a new survey of home builders by NAHB and Countrywide Home Loans.

“Debunking the common perception that seniors prefer to move to traditional warm-weather retirement destinations,” the study also found that the majority of older home buyers are likely to choose a location that is close to their current address, noted NAHB President Kent Conine.

The survey found several significant characteristics of the marketplace for home buyers in age-restricted, age-targeted or independent living communities:

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• Nearly half of elderly home buyers want to be closer to children, grandchildren and other family members.
• More than half of the builders in the 50+ housing market were building single-family detached homes last year. Three out of four of those were one-story.
• About half of 50+ housing communities built last year were in close-in suburbs, 25% were in outer suburbs, 15% in central cities and 11% in rural areas.
• About two-thirds of builders reported that their customers were relocating from the same community or the same state.
• Customers prefer homes that promote safety and provide a sense of security. Strategically placed streetlights and home security systems were included in more than half of the homes built for seniors last year.
• Nearly 70% of the senior housing built last year included high-speed Internet service and many homes included structured wiring and intercom or entrance phones.
• More than three-quarters of the homes built were near shopping centers and many were also close to churches or medical facilities.

“Builders need this type of information to meet the diverse needs of the growing seniors market,” said Jack L. Haynes, executive vice president of the National Builder Division of Countrywide Home Loans, based in Plano, Texas.

“The survey gives builders a better understanding of the demographics and tells them what type of home older Americans want and how these buyers can afford it.”

The study results were presented at last week’s NAHB Seniors Housing Symposium in Indian Wells, CA. It is sponsored by the NAHB Seniors Housing Council.
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