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Grosvenor: Housing Needs for an Older Population
Much has been written about the increase in the older population, and its impact on housing. Grosvenor, headquartered in Calgary, AB in Canada, added its own research to the mix, focusing on residential needs of what it calls “last-time buyers.” According to its “Silver Cities: Planning for an Ageing Population Report,” the international, full-service real estate company noted that elderly households worldwide will become a “significant proportion of the residential market” among OECD countries by 2030.
Other points of the report included that:
- Single-individual households among this age cohort (mainly female) will become more common
- There is little evidence of active downsizing among the elderly; they are more likely to “age in place in locations where they have long-term community attachments”
- Existing housing stock will need to be adapted, and there is great potential for quality, age-friendly housing
On this latter point, Grosvenor notes a mismatch between the larger, under-occupied houses that older people own, and middle-sized, accessible housing that is required. In other words, there are great opportunities for product that focuses on the potential downsizing of the elderly population “into purpose-built dwellings that are better designed for their lifetime needs and located in the communities where they have existing attachments,” the report said.
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