Emergence of the Sun City Concept
When creating residential communities, developers often tend to capitalize on their location and amenities packages, playing up these attributes in their development and marketing strategies. Developers also focus on discerning what buyers look for in their homes. When they buy new homes, many consumers want to change the course of their lives and improve on what they have. They also want to be surrounded by people who share their lifestyle requirements.
Historically, less than 13% of the total age-qualified population has been willing to move from their homes, families and friends in search of this new lifestyle. Del Webb has opened its Sun City communities in Sun Belt states such as Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada. Responding to market research and a shift in philosophy, Del Webb expanded its operations starting in 1998 by “going to the buyer” in markets such as Chicago and Texas. With an influx of potential buyers in the near future, these areas offer opportunities to improve the share of the active adult market from 13% to 100% of age-qualified buyers by understanding the finer segments (and needs) of this dynamic market.
Those looking for more than a home seek a lifestyle augmentation and sometimes even a wholesale change. Not surprisingly, the business of identifying and responding to active adult lifestyle needs and desires flexes with the market. As markets evolve, one size does not fit all.
Many Sun City communities have enjoyed sales in excess of 1,000 units a year. Some of the largest, like Sun City Grand in Surprise, AZ, have more than 10,000 residents. That size and scale appeals to some buyers, but not all. To expand its market share, Del Webb introduced two new sub-brands called Solera and Corte Bella in Arizona. Both offer smaller communities that are built on a more approachable scale and are priced appropriately to the target market.
Revamped Concepts Adapt to Changing Market
The Solera brand typically offers less than 2,000 lots. Launched in February 2002 in Chandler, AZ, a suburb of Phoenix, Solera provides many of the same general amenities — golf, tennis, swimming pools and recreational centers — found in a typical Sun City community. The main difference is that Solera communities are packaged and merchandised as more intimate and comfortable. The lifestyle component is simple, and advertising promotes its small hometown feel. People who find the mass and scale of traditional Sun City communities overwhelming consider Solera, projected to include more than 1,100 homes, to be exciting and approachable. They also like the brand’s prices (low-$180,000s to the low-$300,000s), which fall in line with the surrounding market.
Del Webb built its Corte Bella community west of metropolitan Phoenix, with its first residents moving in during October of 2003. Corte Bella represents a subtle shift in the active adult concept. It is a smaller, more intimate community incorporating a higher-end country club-type amenities package, which has been "enhanced" for active adults who want something more personal and privileged and are willing to pay for it.
The Corte Bella community is slightly larger than Solera — around 1,850 lots. Del Webb merchandised and amenitized Corte Bella to appeal to active adults looking for a different experience. Homes are more expensive than other Sun City homes in the region — ranging from the mid-$190,000s to more than $350,000 — and incorporate additional features. Residents will lead a true country club lifestyle, taking advantage of a state-of-the-art fitness center, limited spa facilities, bar and grille, private dining room, a private golf club with a limited membership and an 18-hole championship golf course and practice facilities. Corte Bella, like Solera, includes walking and bike trails, which are interwoven through both communities’ neighborhoods and recreational centers.
Initial customer reaction to both communities has been positive. More than 375 homes were sold at Solera the first year, and the current sales pace is 30 per month. Corte Bella’s outlook is equally promising. After a marketing campaign to prospective buyers that included direct mail and other pieces, 500 people attended an educational program on the community, with 104 lot reservations made and approximately 200 homes sold before the models were complete. Since the six model homes opened in July 2003, sales have averaged 30 per month.
In addition to its Solera community in Chandler, AZ, Del Webb has recently added another Solera-branded community, Solera at Johnson Ranch. The newest Solera in Arizona opened for sales in July 2004 within a larger, multi-generational master planned community, Johnson Ranch, in the far-east valley of metropolitan Phoenix. Solera at Johnson Ranch is planned for 700 homes and wraps around a public 18-hole golf course. More than 80 of the 1,400-1,900-square-foot homes were sold before the four models opened in early October.
The Solera concept communities can also be found in New Jersey, Southern California and Massachusetts.
As Solera and Corte Bella have proven, Del Webb believes that segmentation can drive sales and enhance the brand. It’s something that all builders and developers, regardless of size, can emulate.
Deborah Blake is the area vice president of marketing for Pulte Homes in Arizona and Nevada. She is an active member of the NAHB Seniors Housing Council and a past speaker at Building for Boomers & Beyond: Seniors Housing Symposium. For more information, e-mail Blake, or call at 623-546-5043.
This article first appeared in a recent edition of Seniors' Housing News, published quarterly by NAHB's Seniors Housing Council. For publication information, e-mail Jeff Jenkins, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8292.
Attend the 2005 Seniors Housing Symposium in Metro Washington, D.C. Area
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