The Current Status of Retirement Villages in Australia
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The retirement market is a booming growth industry that has begun to slowly cool off over the past twelve months.
Fueled by media, belief surrounding retirement villages has been adverse, however, the view of the particular customers and residents remains overwhelmingly positive.
The downfall of Sales and Increase in Competition
The impact of this sentiment has resulted in sales slowing down for many operators and a rise in long run vacancies which ultimately means idle stock. additionally, to the current, the general value of residential homes overall has seen a drop. Metrics have now changed, and also the current climate is proving challenging for a few retirement village operators.
We have also seen a rise in competition within the retirement living sector with both new and existing operators developing vertical villages, many of those being developed post the acquisition boom of 2017.
Initiatives for Growth
The vertical retirement living apartment market may be a growing sector with more villages being developed than ever before, with almost a 3rd of all planned new retirement communities moving towards vertical high-density design. Recent sales can give relative confidence within the demand for these new developments.
Many local Councils are implementing numerous initiatives to encourage new retirement living and aged care accommodation, especially in areas of demand like Brisbane City. Incentives include greater consideration of aging within the drafting of neighborhood plans, a discount within the cost of infrastructure charges to encourage more supply, and improving development assessment processes for aged care facilities.
The Optimistic Future for Retirement Villages
Despite these challenges, an interest in real people searching and educating themselves on retirement villages has never been higher and there remains a requirement for retirement living because the baby-boom generation enters retirement age. the subsequent generation of retirees are healthier than ever before and are seeking a more holistic range of services and recreational options onsite.
Therefore, it’s now more important than ever for both new and existing retirement villages to have a sophisticated high-level approach to sales and marketing. This includes undertaking extensive marketing research to know your market and customers and not being complacent with promotion and consumer engagement.
