Creative Thinking for Senior Housing

More people are moving towards the senior bracket of 75 years and older, 33.6 million in just around a decade. Less than half will be part of the middle-income group, and as we all know, retiring can be costly making the transition more difficult than it should be. Retiring is mostly associated with living life how you intend it to be, but it’s not always pretty. Retiring also means expensive housing and healthcare among other things. Not everyone is prepared to put out that much, even if they need the support from such facilities. Mobility, physical, cognitive, and even mental services will be required as they age, however, the facilities to provide them those may not even be built yet.

With majority of the retirees being part of the middle class, there is a mismatch as to what the market currently offers and what the incoming retirees can afford. Current residences available to seniors are beyond the financial reach of most baby boomers, furthermore, the ones in the market do not even meet their preferences to begin with. Baby boomers are asking for greater independence--whether that are independent senior apartments in Pittston City, PA or retirement Communities Kansas City, KS--as long as it gives them the independence and mobility they need. Added to the constraint is the cost of rent and healthcare. With a slimmer budget, the typical cost of rent and other services they need would need to go down. To make retirement easier for 6 million middle-income seniors will mean decreasing the annual cost of rent and other required services by $15,000 per year.

These are just some of the changes needing to happen, but the current system may not even be able to accommodate them. Perks from the government would be nice, like tax incentives for seniors or for real estate developers building senior homes. Having more senior apartments in Warsaw Town, NY would not be a bad idea. However, it will be a slow process, so the private sector needs to heed the call. There is a big demand waiting after all, the economics just need to make sense. How can it make sense? Creative thinking.

Among the practices that may be adopted is co-living. It is a trend that is popular among millenials, simply because of the increasing cost of living in urban capitals like San Francisco, so why can it not be done for seniors as well? The retiring baby boomers are also feeling the financial crunch the same way millenials are finding it hard to cope with the increasing cost of living in the cities where they live. Co-living means sharing living areas, which may mean reduced privacy and more dense living spaces. However, it also means making it more affordable for Americans retiring soon and more sociable living quarters. After all, social isolation and depression are mental concerns seniors are facing, so why not try making it easier for them to interact? These smaller space will not only make a more efficient use of space, but also make retirement more achievable for more American baby boomers.

This is the syndicated copy of an original article posted at https://www.calamar.com/creative-thinking-for-senior-housing

Calamar is a major full service real estate organization which is vertically integrated and comprised of four main operating groups: Development, Construction, Asset Management, and Finance & Investment.