(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on Aug 11, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.)
“That’s perhaps one of the geniuses in the way the village movement has been set up, because it takes into account the fact that we are all aging in different ways with different needs at different times.
People said, you cannot retire on Beacon Hill. It just won’t work. You have bricks to fall on, stairs to climb, and that’s not appropriate for older people. And my answer to that is that, if I stop climbing stairs, I won’t be able to climb stairs.” (emphasis mine)
Susan McWhinney-Morse: Founding Member, Beacon Hill Village in “There’s No Place Like Home: Seniors Hold on to Urban Independence Into Old Age” from PBS Newshour, August 8, 2013
Beacon Hill Village is “a member-driven organization for Boston residents 50 and over, provides programs and services so members can lead vibrant, active and healthy lives, while living in their own homes and neighborhoods.” There are now 110 of these organizations across the U.S. and over 200 currently in development. This aging in place movement is yet more evidence that 2020 may come and go without a housing crisis sparked by aging baby boomers stampeding into a “Senior Sell-Off.”
“The Village,” as it is affectionately called by members, and groups like it, are living examples of the strong preferences many senior citizens have to stay in familiar communities, near long-time friends, and surrounded by cherished memories. {snip}
The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) provides an extensive checklist of remodeling considerations to accommodate seniors aging at home. The NAHB also provides a service for finding Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists (CAPS) who can assist in these projects. {snip}
In other words, the U.S. is getting ready for its aging population. The crest of aging baby boomers is not likely to catch the housing market (recall the commentary from Toll Brothers (TOL) management in its last earnings call) or communities by surprise. {snip}
Watch Seniors Hold on to Urban Independence Into Old Age on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.
Be careful out there!
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on Aug 11, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.)
Full disclosure: no positions