By David Smith, Cambridge Homes

Active adult builders have a prevailing perception about age-qualified communities — that lifestyle is the primary selling point and housing comes second.

In other words, as long as they offer the lifestyle bells and whistles, all they need to provide is a variety of single-level housing products and buyers will come.

The popular opinion is that these consumers seek an active lifestyle and want to be surrounded by people their own age.  I am the first to admit that lifestyle has been — and will continue to be — a key factor of a successful age-qualified community.

But housing remains a critical part of the equation. It isn’t enough to offer a handful of models and maintenance-free living. Since most customers have lived in their homes for 20 to 30 years, builders must give them a real incentive to move. A resort-style environment can be enticing, but it’s just as important to design homes that excite buyers.

Today, the Chicago metropolitan area is a hotbed for age-qualified active adult communities. Surprisingly, less than 10% of the homes in these communities are multifamily, whereas attached housing accounts for 40% of all new housing starts. A significant benefit of Cambridge Homes’ Carillon communities, our company’s active adult brand, is that they have 40% to 60% ratios of attached to single-family homes, giving us an edge over the competition.

Diversification is Key

Typically, age-qualified communities are larger in scale. This spreads out the associated costs of maintaining the amenities and maintenance-free living.

Keep in mind that active adult buyers are as diverse as other market segments in their living needs and wealth. Many buyers still work, others have second homes in warmer climates, and the ratio of couples to singles is often negligible. The large size of many active adult communities, coupled with the varied buyer composition, requires a broad range of housing for optimal absorption. For this reason, it makes sense to provide a sufficient balance between attached and detached homes.

Product diversification also enhances a community’s overall appearance. Building distinctive neighborhoods of single family and multifamily homes creates streetscapes with a village-type feeling. This attracts many active adult buyers who often move from well-established neighborhoods with an assortment of product types.

A Built-In Market

Many active adults, especially in urban areas, actually prefer attached housing. The Chicago area is not an easy place to spend winters, which explains why nearly half of Carillon residents either own or rent second homes in warmer climates.

As a rule, these “snowbirds” favor attached housing because of the comparatively lower price points and the benefits of maintenance-free living. Residents in Carillon’s single-family homes receive snow removal and lawn service, but those who live in attached homes also get exterior home maintenance. The buyers appreciate not having to clean their own gutters or maintain their siding, especially when away from their primary homes for extended time periods.

For the same reasons, multifamily housing remains a popular choice among singles, especially those who are divorced or widowed. Because many of these buyers live on fixed incomes, they are more price conscious and less inclined to have second homes. They want to maximize the home they have, and the lower base price makes it possible to invest in more upgrades. Security is another selling point, particularly for single residents who may feel vulnerable. Having neighbors close by provides a more secure feeling.

Density and Inventory Benefits

In the Chicago suburbs, land is becoming scarce in close-in communities where people want to live. The smaller infill parcels dictate multifamily housing, which yields significantly higher density. The advantage to buyers is they can find new housing in a convenient location, while builders get enough volume to make it worth the effort.

Many builders might question whether municipalities will allow attached housing in the first place. Generally, this is a concern for standard communities since, more than ever, municipalities are trending toward larger lot sizes. However, active adult age-qualified communities are unique. A great selling point to local officials is they have virtually no impact on the school or park districts. After all, these communities are age-qualified, which means there cannot be any permanent residents under 18.

To bolster inventory sales, certain configurations of attached buildings are conducive to switching out plans. An example is our quad product in which all plans are compatible with any other unit. All four units in a building can be the same plan, or each of them could be different. This gives the sales staff greater flexibility and eliminates the “problem floor plan” scenario stemming from the need to spec out two or more units in many cases. The ability to build the top plans is advantageous in the Chicago area, where it is common to spec out entire buildings due to wintertime construction conditions.

Doing It Right: Avoiding Potential Pitfalls

Multifamily homes in age-qualified communities can benefit builders and buyers. A built-in market already exists, assuming the product is designed to meet active adult buyers’ expectations. Again, builders should do more than build single level attached homes with stepless entries. If done right, attached housing can appeal to nearly all buyers.

Cambridge Homes conducted focus groups in November 2004 with prospective active adult buyers, who raised a number of good points. Here are a few of the concerns about attached housing voiced by single-family owners and possible solutions:

• A loss of privacy. The most effective way to overcome this objection is to focus on the community’s lifestyle and social attributes. Design homes to minimize this concern. For example, Cambridge Homes’ Getaway Series town homes (built in U-shaped configurations) include separate entries and individual outdoor spaces for more privacy. The Bayside Series quads are designed as end units featuring private entrances at the corners and limited unit-to-unit attachment since homes are primarily attached at the garages.
  
  
• No longer able to garden. Town homes can be designed to accommodate outside gardens closer to the homes. This was one of the special features in the Getaway Series. Additionally, builders can allocate space for community gardens, which are referred to as “victory” gardens. In Carillon Lakes, buyers can lease a portion of the victory garden for personal use. Residents also can join a community gardening club.
  
  
• Lack of storage. The Getaway Series homes are designed with plenty of interior storage space, even for buyers who don’t opt for basements. Oversized two-car garages provide extra storage space.
  
  
• Too small to entertain. Although attached homes generally are smaller than their detached counterparts, builders can maximize areas commonly designated for entertaining. An example is the great room concept in which the dining and living areas are combined into one large, open space. Builders also can sell, as upgrades, expandable flex spaces such as sunrooms, enlarged family rooms, and basements that can be finished for an additional level of living space.

Focus group participants also were concerned that kitchens and bedrooms would be too small. Builders must understand their buyers’ priorities and how to design homes to meet their needs. Conduct focus groups early in the process before the site plan and product development processes get under way. Incorporate your buyers’ wants and needs to ensure they get what they want, rather than what you think they want.

Other Product Considerations

Active adults in the focus groups also listed the reasons for wanting to move from their existing homes. Many reasons confirm what builders have known all along.

Common reasons included:

• The house and yard are too big and hard to maintain
• Loss of a spouse
• Health issues or concerns about future health issues
• Desire to trade a two-story home for a single-level home
• Desire to move back from the Sun Belt to be closer to children and grandchildren
• Need for a more secure living environment
• Most of their friends are gone and current neighbors have young kids that they cannot connect with
• And snow removal (“my back is killing me!”)

Focus group participants also raised other issues builders may not consider but easily can address in their home designs. Active adult buyers desire open floor plans with plenty of light, a welcome change from their dark, older two-story homes. Because visual abilities decrease by 24 percent by age 60, this is a real concern that can be handled in the design of attached housing. For example, four-unit buildings featuring all end units are ideally suited for bringing light into the homes. Cambridge Homes designs end units with many windows, and the interior units include double skylights to bring in more light.

The focus groups also mentioned a need for two bedrooms, instead of four. A double-master option is popular with couples who don’t sleep together.

A common objection to attached housing is noise. Builders can overcome this problem by insulating the interiors of the 2” × 4” walls with 3 ½-inch sound attenuation batts. Half-inch gypsum wall boards attached to both exterior sides of the walls, not to mention two one inch gypsum shaft liner panels, provide a sound transmission coefficient (STC) rating of 60. The extra insulation between common walls virtually eliminates sound transfer between units. Meanwhile, the shaft liner panels impede fire transfer between units by two hours. This entire system is referenced by the Underwriters Laboratories as design number U336.

Although not mentioned during the focus groups, another point to keep in mind is building Energy Star-rated homes, which can be a tremendous selling point. Energy Star is a U. S. Environmental Protection Agency program that ensures homes are at least 30 percent more energy-efficient than required by the Federal Model Energy Code. There are a number of different ways and combinations of energy-saving components to achieve an Energy Star rating, including using inside-the-envelope duct work (a design enhancement that keeps HVAC ducts within the conditioned, insulated spaces of the home), insulated crawlspace and basement walls, slab insulation, R-38 vs. R-30 attic insulation, Low-E glass, air barrier exterior wrap, and set-back thermostats.

Active adult buyers will enjoy lower utility bills and a more comfortable living environment since the heat and air are distributed and sustained more consistently and effectively from room to room. Another selling point is that each Energy Star-rated home requires a third-party inspection and testing process, ensuring that the home complies with the program. Once the home passes inspection, each homeowner receives an Energy Star certificate.

Site Plan

While it is important to have good attached product, it is just as pivotal to excite and motivate your prospects to move with a site plan where the design and amenities complement the environment. For instance, Carillon Lakes’ amenities were designed to take advantage of open space around the lakes and natural conservation areas. All residents can enjoy the “premium” space, instead of only the few that can afford to back up to an open space or lake. A three-hole golf facility also adds to a community’s open feel and allows residents to go outdoors and work on their short game. The builder can offer a small golf course without burdening the entire community with the cost of maintaining a nine- or 18-hole course.

Benefits for Everyone

Attached housing for age-qualified communities is a win-win situation for active adult buyers and builders alike. It not only promotes a more enriched, diversified community setting, but also it is an easier sell with buyers who want maintenance- free living with a smaller price tag.

Builders can design attached homes to be just as distinctive as single-family homes. This includes not only the interior living spaces, but also the exterior by properly blending colors and materials. An attractive site plan combined with carefully thought out attached-home designs allows builders to take advantage of the built-in market for multifamily homes. It also allows them to reach buyers who otherwise might consider only single family homes. The sky is the limit with attached housing.  

This article, which appeared in 50+ Housing Magazine, was authored by David Smith, vice president of marketing and product development with Cambridge Homes, a Chicago-area builder and division of D.R. Horton, Inc. Under Smith’s guidance, Cambridge has introduced a number of innovative new home features and programs, including Energy Star certification, in the company’s Carillon active adult communities. He is also credited with standardizing Cambridge’s vast product lines for optimum efficiencies and for positioning the company as a leader in consumer and market research. Smith currently serves on the Education Committee of the NAHB 50+ Housing Council. He can be reached by e-mail or 847-362-9100 or dlsmith@drhorton.com.  

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