The active adult market is constantly changing. Here are six trends in active adult lifestyle communities that will help keep you ahead of the competition.

1. The marketplace will continue to grow in the next several years despite the “soft launching” now occurring in many markets.
   
   Why? Home owners ages 55 and older have been able to accumulate more wealth over the past five years than ever before. Consequently, their costs of living have gone a different direction. Instead of spending money to raise a family, pay for college, support children and pay off the mortgage, their discretionary income is geared toward vacation and travel, buying a second home or using their wealth for themselves. Eventually, many will seek a home that is geared to active, maintenance-free lifestyle living.
   
   As long as job growth continues and the economy is strong, 55+ households will continue  to  work. Today, between 30% and 50% of the 55-74 age bracket is still working, whether it be from home, on the road or in an office. They have more “leisure time” for themselves, with many couples and singles now beginning to engage in “lifestyle planning” as well as “financial planning.”
   
   Again, many boomers are now starting to recognize that “all work and no play is boring” and they believe they need to make a life change. Enter the second home, vacation cottage, pied á terre resort condominium, which could eventually turn into their future active lifestyle home or community.
   
   
2. Active lifestyle communities are now moving away from the 45- to 90-minute drive to the outer limits of suburbia to find an amenitized lifestyle community with maintenance-free living.
   
   Today and in the future, we will see smaller, closer-in communities that take advantage of public amenities and facilities as well as private communities that offer a way of life without the associated costs of long-distance travel. 
   
   These future communities will be  200- to 500-dwelling units with a variety of housing types ranging from single-family detached and attached to townhomes, multi-level communities (three to six stories) and high-rises.
   
   
3. Master-planned communities will begin to include niche active lifestyle neighborhoods to offer a broader base of products and attract 55 + home buyers.
   
   These neighborhoods will be designed for a market segment that prefers to be closer to a more diversified community and not be in a 100% age-qualified development.  In addition, it solves the problem of keeping buyers close to their children, grandchildren and relatives.
   
   
4. From a marketing standpoint, the language of age-qualified communities will change, with softer phrases, words and language that boomers understand and relate to in their daily lives.
   
   For example, instead of using the term “exercise” or “wellness center,” marketing professionals might opt for “gymnasium,” “fitness center” or “spa.” A clubhouse can be called a “residents’ club,” “members’ lodge” or “community center.” A “movie theater” becomes a “screening room.”
   
   The changes in language are subtle but reflect the way boomers think. Check out the article in the October 2007 issue of 50+ Housing e/Source for a closer look at the new language of lifestyle communities.
   
   
5.  Forget the words “active adult” or “55 and better.” Your current and future buyers and residents want “lifestyle living” that gives them a “lock and leave” approach to their new residence.
   
   A residence and community that touts no more lawn mowing, shoveling snow or worrying about home repairs might opt for the following slogan: “I’ll Live in a Maintenance-Free Community … No Hassles… No Worries.” 
   
   
6. Lifestyle or activity directors will make your 24/7 activities “come alive” with a full schedule of events, trips and programs and they could increase your sales.
   
   If you haven’t already done so, make your lifestyle director part of your sales and marketing department. Don’t wait until the clubhouse opens; have your lifestyle director available during early pre-sale traffic, weekends and at different milestones when you install your community’s amenities. Make sure that your sales counselors introduce this person to your qualified prospects.  Many times, the lifestyle director can help “close the sale” by painting a vivid picture of what’s coming.

With 40 years’ experience marketing active adult lifestyle communities, William E. Becker, CAASH, MIRM, managing director and president of The William E. Becker Organization, has taught and written extensively on this subject. He has been presented with many awards for his accomplishments and is a popular speaker at industry conferences, including NAHB's Building for Boomers & Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium. Becker is a charter member and past president of the Institute of Residential Marketing and has been named a Legend of the Industry by NAHB’s Sales and Marketing Council and an  Icon of the Industry by the NAHB 50+ Housing Council. He can be reached by e-mail or at 201-833-2610. [Return to top]