Posts Tagged ‘Aging’

Why Seniors Move in the US

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

In the United States, where they have a quaint habit of collecting reliable data that sheds light on matters of interest and importance to their society (unlike Canada, where we consider this practice outrageously intrusive), data from the 2009 American Housing Survey have just been released.

For the 65+ group, the most common reason for moving was to be closer to work/school/other. The questions (and answers) apply to all age groups, which is why “closer to family” doesn’t appear as a specific choice. It is very likely though that closer to family is the primary motivator for this group.

No surprise there. But the second most common reason, chosen by almost as many people as “closer to work/school/other” was “needed larger house or apartment”.  Now that IS surprising.

On the unsurprising front again, only 7% of 55+ households reported living in an age-restricted community. Of course we have no idea what the comparable Canadian figure is, but it is probably lower for reasons I have discussed in earlier posts.

90% of US households of all ages live in unsecured (ie ungated) communities, but new construction is more likely to be in gated communities.

We will post again about the AHS.

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Life Lease Legislation

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

I was working on something to do with life lease the other day and googled an article by an Ontario lawyer named John Clark. The article is called Life Lease Residential Housing: Is it Time for Legislation? So far Manitoba is the only province that has enacted legislation dealing with life leases, although other provinces have thought about it and two (BC and Ontario) have had a public consultation processes. Nothing happened in either province as a result of the consultation and it seems unlikely that anything will, at least for the foreseeable future.

The conclusion of the Clark article is that yes, legislation would be a good thing, notwithstanding the concern of many in the industry that legislation might be too restrictive—might harm the innovative and flexible approach to life leases that is now the operational context. And in fact I have talked to knowledgeable people in Manitoba who say that that is exactly what happened in that province—innovation and creativity were stifled as a result of the legislation.

Mr. Clark supports legislation for the consumer protection elements it would presumably provide, specifically in relation to the safety of purchaser deposits, financial and management disclosure, construction insurance, the freedom to register a life lease interest at land titles, and the freedom to sublet.

In BC, these consumer protection mechanisms already exist, not through specific life lease legislation but through the Real Estate Development Marketing Act.

Mr. Clark also muses that perhaps life lease development ought to be restricted to the not-for-profit sector and that governments might want to think about assisting the life lease development process in some way—via loan guarantees and incentives for developers and residents for example—because that would be a relatively inexpensive way for governments to contribute to the development of affordable housing.

In all provinces, except Alberta, life lease has evolved as a creature of the not-for-profit sector. There are very few for-profit life leases, mostly because for-profit developers prefer to get in and out as fast as possible. For-profit life leases operate primarily in the service-enriched market.

We will be posting more about life leases in the weeks to come. It is a particular passion of Lumina’s.

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Sun City Arizona is 50 Years Old

Friday, August 20th, 2010

That seems almost impossible to believe.  Not so much its age per se, but the fact that it was built when the median age in the US was 29.5 and the oldest baby boomer was 14. Today the median age is 36.7 and the oldest boomer is 64. Del Webb died in 1974. I don’t know if anyone has written a biography of him but it would certainly be interesting to ask him how he came up with the vision of enormous retirement communities when the US was comparatively so youthful. Wikipedia notes his many accomplishments, but doesn’t touch on this subject. The entry does note though that on opening day, 100,000 people came to check out Sun City–so many that Del Webb had to survey the scene via helicopter.

In 2010, more than 40,000 people, 98% of them white, live in Sun City, which contains seven recreation centres,  eight golf courses, three country clubs, two bowling centres, an amphitheatre and a lake—the largest concentration of year-round recreational facilities in the United States. According to the 2000 census, 80% of the population of Sun City was over the age of 65. The median age is 75, twice the national median of 36.7.

These are staggering statistics. The oldest mid-sized urban area in Canada is Parksville, BC, on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island. Compared to Sun City, Parksville is positively youthful—only 34% of the population is over 65. Perhaps because of this comparative youthfulness, not many developers of golf course communities have been drawn to the Parksville area, notwithstanding its assumed appeal for retirees and seniors. The closest golf course community is Fairwinds, which offers “1,350 acres of living” consisting of one golf course, one marina, a community centre and 400 residential units. Arbutus Ridge is further south and a little bigger, with 600 residential units. The 830-acre Crown Isle Resort is an hour north of Fairwinds. And that’s basically it for active-adult type of communities in what is usually considered the epicentre of retirement living in Canada.

I wonder what Del Webb would make of that.

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Thoughts on Homecare for Seniors

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

My 87 year old mother recently spent 2 weeks with us (sorry for letting my posting slip somewhat). Near the end of her visit my son asked me how long I thought she would be able to continue living independently.  She moved from the family home into an apartment eight years ago. It’s not a seniors’ apartment and she still drives. She has all her mental faculties, takes almost no drugs, and does not use any kind of mobility device, although she can’t walk long distances and she shuffles a bit because she is afraid of falling.

So: a very independent senior you might conclude and you would be half right. She IS very independent but only because my three siblings live in the same city she does and they help her a lot. My sister does all her grocery shopping for example. My brothers do various maintenance tasks for her. Without that kind of help her life would be difficult, perhaps too difficult to allow her to remain at home, where she wants to be.

My mother is fortunate to have children close by who do these things for her. But what about people who don’t have kids close by? And, what about the boomers, who, typically, have had fewer children than their parents?

One solution is virtual retirement communities. We have posted about VRCs in earlier blogs and I am convinced they will become a prominent part of the landscape in years to come. Another is intentional communities. Someone I was talking to recently told me about a group of seniors who share the same caregiver. They all live in single family houses but not on the same street. The caregiver goes from one house to the next and is increasingly getting worn out. They have now decided that the obvious solution is for all of them to live together. And that indeed IS a good solution if they can get it off the ground fast enough.

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Help Required: Title for Book on Seniors’ Housing

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

As regular readings of this blog know, I am writing a book that will be published shortly (meaning in the next couple of months). It is currently titled The Future of Seniors’ Housing: Planning, Building and Operating Successful Seniors’ Housing Projects.

That is quite a dull title I admit. A book designer suggested I come up with a more exciting title and use the existing title as a sub-title. That is a great idea but the problem is I can’t think of a catchier title. If it were 2005 and not 2010 Silver Tsunami would be perfect but unfortunately about a million other people have used that phrase over the last several years. I tried a few variations on the golden theme but lots of people think “golden” should not be used in any context dealing with people over the age of 55. My personal favourite on the golden front is nursing homes that are called “Golden Door”. I think that’s hilarious although I probably wouldn’t be quite so amused if I were about to move into a Golden Door Nursing Home. You would have to work hard to avoid the implications.

And speaking of nursing homes I visited a friend of my mother’s yesterday who recently moved into a nursing home on account of a very weak heart. His heart may be weak but his sense of humour certainly isn’t. The monthly activity calendar on his wall listed “zucchini races” every Wednesday morning at 10:30. “What”, I asked, “are zucchini races?” Without missing a beat he said”I don’t know but it doesn’t matter anyway because I don’t think my zucchini is up to it.”

I am still chuckling about that. However the point of this post is not to share witticisms but to ask for your help in coming up with a catchy title for my book. If I use your idea I will certainly acknowledge your help in the book. Please try to avoid any metallic references.

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More Interesting Stuff from the Census We Will Never Know Again

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

As I have said before numerous times in this blog I believe that the changes the federal government is making to the 2011 Canadian Census by removing the mandatory long form are completely boneheaded. Here is another example of data that will no longer be available:

In Richmond, a suburb of Metro Vancouver, 40% of the 65+ households live in a condo. In New Westminster, another suburb, 61% do. Is that because it’s easier for seniors in New West to downsize? Proportionately, there are twice as many apartments in New West than there are in Richmond (another long form fact) so that’s one possible explanation. Another possible explanation could be that seniors in New West have lower incomes than seniors in Richmond and can’t afford to live in single detached houses. Here’s how that hypothesis pans out: the average income of 65+ households in Richmond is $52,385; in New West, $47,010. So that’s another possible explanation. Or perhaps 65+ households in New West are smaller and don’t need the space of a single detached house. And the facts? 57% of 65+ households in New West are non-family households, meaning most will be single person households. The comparable figure in Richmond is 38%.

Well who cares says Stephen Harper, Tony Clement, and the Fraser Institute.

Communities that want to become elder-friendly care. They need to understand the housing situation of people living in their communities now, as well as how the community can accommodate people who might move there in the future.

For-profit and not-for-profit developers of seniors’ housing care too. Spend $20 million on a housing project without understanding the market? Not wise. Hold on a minute though say SH, TC, and the FI, if they need that information they can darn well go and get it themselves. But they can’t—they won’t be able to replicate the comprehensiveness or the reliability of census data, even if they spend huge sums of money trying to do so.

Many people and companies of all sorts in the seniors’ housing and health care industry will be hobbled by the absence of the long form. The whole situation is, as I have said on earlier occasions, very sad.

If only more people read this blog! A Canadian Press story appearing on August 2nd opines that the Tories believe not enough people really care about the census and the whole thing will blow over. I hope that is not true.

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My Book: A Few Steps Closer to Publication

Monday, July 26th, 2010

I have posted a couple of times about my forthcoming book currently titled The Future of Seniors Housing: Planning, Building, and Operating Successful Seniors Housing Projects. The original goal was to publish mid-year but now it’s looking more like fall. However great progress has been made over the last few months and I am feeling much less anxious than I have for a long time. There are now seven chapters in the book plus the introduction.

I have said many times that the book has practically killed me and that if I had known yada yada yada. I don’t know if that is entirely true though. I might have written it even if I had fully realized how much work it would be.  Because, as all of you who read this blog know, seniors housing is an endlessly fascinating field. It is such a cliché to describe things as labours of love, but that’s how things get to be clichés in the first place—because they are true!

So, coming soon!

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Seniors’ Housing Projects: Location, Location, Location–How Important is it Really?

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Conventional wisdom suggests that for supportive seniors’ housing projects (meals, housekeeping, laundry etc), walking-distance proximity to stores and services is, if not essential, then at the very least extremely important. But without sitting down and doing the math, I would say that a minority of supportive seniors’ housing projects in BC are located close enough to stores and services so that people could easily walk to them. Some are in locations that are downright pastoral. Of course walking isn’t necessary for all people—many have scooters that enlarge their geographic boundaries. Scooters though are used by a small minority of seniors, meaning that walking distance is more important than scooter distance.

As well, many seniors’ housing projects have their own buses to take people around to shopping and doctors’ appointments, many have small tuck shops that sell various items, and in any case, most meals are provided on site. So why do people need to walk anywhere? I firmly believe that the answer to that question is this: even if people don’t have to walk anywhere, the fact that they could if they wanted to is an important psychological benefit. And for those people who actually do walk to the store or the bank, it’s more than just a psychological benefit—it’s a physical benefit as well.

Proximity to green space seems to be less important than proximity to stores and services. It’s always nice to have a park to walk through but half the time the weather may preclude the walk. But proximity to schools and other places where children play is almost always considered a decided advantage because it gives people something highly enjoyable to watch. Proximity to seniors’ centres is hugely advantageous, not just because it allows residents to participate in outside events and activities, but because it facilitates two-way interaction. It’s easy to invite people living in the community and using the seniors’ centre to come for meals and events at the housing project, which is one of the very best ways of keeping buildings full.  Easy access to public transportation falls into the “it goes without saying” category, whether or not people living in supportive housing projects ever actually take a city bus. Visitors might though and staff almost certainly will.

Of course finding sites that are close to stores, services, schools, public transit, and seniors’ centres is much easier said than done. When “affordably priced” is added to the list, finding a suitable site begins to verge on the miraculous, especially in centres where land is expensive.

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2011 Census (Reprise)

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

As the government is still persisting in its wrong-headed plans to ruin the 2011 Census, I thought it would be useful to explain in a little more depth why the Census information is so critical for seniors’ housing analysis.

Here is an example of a table we always use when we are doing a market study or a community housing needs assessment.  Here are just a few of the things this table tells us:

  • 83% of the 55+ households in this community are homeowners.
  • The average income of the renters is $38,509 compared to $73,094 for the owners.
  • Single (non-family) renters over the age of 85 have the lowest average incomes.
  • Although not shown in the table, the detailed data indicate that there are 565 renter households aged 65+ in this community with an income lower than $14,999. These are the households facing serious challenges in terms of meeting their housing needs.

Owners

Renters

Family Hshlds

Non-Family

Family Hshlds

Non-Family

Total

Avg Inc

Total

Avg Inc

Total

Avg Inc

Total

Avg Inc

55-64

4,880

$101,729

1,030

$47,153

600

$61,629

510

$30,613

65-74

2,450

$67,633

815

$36,961

220

$41,969

405

$28,178

75-84

1,140

$63,158

1,030

$32,375

125

$35,366

265

$26,375

85+

200

$50,621

255

$24,358

60

$47,584

235

$24,220

Sadly, we will never have this level of knowledge about seniors’ housing markets in future years because all of this information comes from the long form.

For-profit and not-for-profit developers, communities, governments, market analysts—we will all be forced to guess what is going on. Tragic.

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Lowest and Highest Incomes in Canada for 65+ Households

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Note that this is the last time we will be able to discuss this issue, thanks to the Conservatives’ completely bone-headed and inexplicable decision to gut the 2011 Census. No other country in the world runs its Census the way Canada does, or will in 2011. It is a tragic mistake that will take years to correct. I have written to Tony Clement, the Minister who decided to gut the Census, Stephen Harper, my MP, the Globe and Mail, and all of my colleagues who rely on Census data to make sense of our world and I encourage you to do the same. I am surprised the outcry hasn’t been louder. It’s not just the seniors’ housing field that will be severely impacted of course. Please do what you can.

So for the last time for a long time, here are average incomes and rates of homeownership for 65+ households across the country. The lowest incomes are in Newfoundland and Labrador and the highest in Ontario. The proportion of homeowners is fairly similar throughout the country except for Quebec, which has a much higher incidence of renting across all age groups compared to other provinces. It’s interesting that Manitoba is the only other province with a homeownership ratio in the 60s, although average incomes are higher than the national average and house prices are comparatively affordable. Why would that be so? The only thing I can think of is that the incidence of life lease is relatively high in Manitoba. Unlike all other provinces, life lease residents are considered renters in Manitoba so that might explain the lower incidence of homeownership.

65+ Owner Household Incomes - 2

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