Sun 1 Jul 2007
The Future of Retirement (part 1)
With a rapidly ageing population, the already large retirement housing market looks set to get even bigger. In this issue and the next David Hoppit looks at some of the projects currently on offer and what the future holds.We live in a changing world - changing climate (April is the new May, I'm told), changing cultures and changing attitudes to nearly everything, not least the way we all view advancing years and the prospects that await us in old age.
There's no doubt that Shakespeare would have to revise his 'Seven Ages of Man' speech from As you Like It were he around today. Shuffling around in slippers, 'sans' teeth and 'sans' just about everything else you can think of, is not the image that springs to mind for those of three or four score years or more in the 21st century.
These days one meets very few older men whose "manly voice" is "turning again toward childish treble" or whose "youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too wide for his shrunk shank". On the whole, apart from erring towards obesity, most grown ups enjoy a robust build.
There's no use denying it - we are all growing older; but the good news is that most of us will live longer, healthier and more productive lives...at least until global warming does for us all, as surely it will before the end of this century.
By the time the London Olympic flame flickers out in 2012 there will be close to 18 million Britons aged over 55 (of which nearly 11 million will be over 65). Already, for the first time in the history of the world, there are more over-60s than there are under-16s.
Perhaps of even greater significance for those planning our future is the fact that there are now 1.1 million people aged over 85 - a rise of 500 per cent in a little over 50 years; and the Queen is despatching thousands more birthday greetings to centenarians than she did when she ascended the throne in 1953.
All these statistics may bring a glaze to your eyes, but they will have a profound influence on every aspect of life (health care, holidays, pensions and so on) but in particular on the way the housebuilding industry evolves in the next couple of decades.
We have come a long way since I started watching the property market for a living in 1980, at which time there were very few options for the elderly and none designed specifically for what I prefer to call 'grown-ups'. The 'elderly' are the new 'middle-aged', it seems.
These are people whose kids have flown the nest who want an improvement in lifestyle and accommodation rather than what one specialist called "downsizing and downgrading". Mum wants a kitchen, living room and view that are superior to the ones her children have. Call them elderly and they will challenge you to a game of squash, or golf - and probably win.
Grown-ups are travelling more and many have second and third homes. So for an increasing number the motive for selling the family home is not so much to release equity but more to obtain a home that is secure - one they can lock up and leave while they travel to exotic places.
It is predominantly a wealth created by the roof above our heads. People drawing a pension now, who bought a house costing £5,000 in the 1960s, may well be able to sell it for £500,000 today.
Of course, at the other end of the spectrum there are many who have always rented their home and whose parents did the same, so the inheritance factor does not apply. Their aspirations and horizons are necessarily different from those of us who have watched the noughts grow on the value of our homes. So unfortunately we are heading for a seriously divided community, at least so far as material assets are concerned.
David Wilson Homes has discovered another phenomenon of the early 21st century. Apparently there are no fewer than 858,000 households where three generations are living under one roof. This may be the homeowner, his children and the grandparents - or it could of course be the grandparents who still have their children and their children's children under their roof. Either way, it's not the most satisfactory arrangement for Brits, even if it is the norm in China and India.
So what does the future hold for grown-up homeowners - have we reached the pinnacle of perfection or might there be still more improvements to the housing stock and the lifestyle available to those of mature years?
Recently I was one of four writers permitted an early viewing of Countryside's glamorous development at Cliveden, former home of the Astor dynasty and now owned and nurtured by the National Trust.
The firm beat 46 others in an architecture competition to win the right to develop the site - a project that has been some 20 years in the making since the closure of the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital there. Countryside is justly proud of the houses and flats that are taking shape, saying they are for NONYs - "not old, not young" - one of countless acronyms that now adorn brochures for what we used to call retirement developments.
Escorted by a fragrant young PR I walked where John Profumo, Christine, Mandy et al had walked and cavorted back in the 1960s, beside the swimming pool within the walled garden. When I boasted that I knew of several people, still alive and well, who narrowly escaped exposure, she appeared unimpressed.
Then I felt a real NONY myself. She, of course, was born nearly 20 years after the scandal that rocked the world and regarded it as ancient history, which I suppose it is now.
Over a pleasant luncheon with Patrick Begg, regional director of The National Trust and Christopher Cook, managing director of Countryside, I plucked up courage to mention the affair. Was it a help or a hindrance in marketing to respectable 'grown-ups'?
"The history of Cliveden is an integral part of our country's history. The social side of the mansion and estate is well documented throughout the house. Our visitors want to know about the scandal and also about all the other people, celebrities and royalty, who have enjoyed hospitality here," said Patrick Begg.
Christopher Crook was also in no doubt: "We are proud of this development and as our customers lived through the 1960s it is natural that the affair will be fresh in the memories and of interest. It certainly hasn't hampered our marketing - quite the contrary in fact."
Taking shape in the tree-lined 15 acres of brownfield land are 71 two- and three-bedroom houses and 64 apartments, built with sustainability and energy conservation very much in mind. They are bright and modern, but easily adapted to accommodate the NONY's prized antiques and other possessions if "modern" is not their cup of tea.
Current prices are between £410,000 and £610,000. Buyers are given membership of The National Trust (whether they wish it or not!) and have access to the estate's 376 acres of woodland and riverside parkland. They can also, of course, visit the famous hotel, part of the von Essen Group, which has leased it from The National Trust, where suites on a bed and breakfast deal range in price between around £450 and £1,169 for a night. A three course dinner is a trifling £59 and there is a formidable wine list.
So is Cliveden Village, as the development is named, a glimpse of the future? Everyone, it seems, benefits from this scheme, including the National Trust itself (third biggest landowner in the UK) which will share in the profits and plough them back into preserving and improving the mansion and its grounds for the nation.
The properties should earn an EcoHomes rating of 'Very Good' and they are just two miles from a station that is 40 minutes from Waterloo. There are 40 golf courses within a radius of 40 miles and fishing and boating are virtually on the doorstep. They have excellent private and secluded gardens as well as those National Trust acres looked after by professionals.
Christopher Crook commented: "We take landscaping very seriously. It has the immediate effect of creating a sense of place and this is particularly important in an age-exclusive development such as this, helping residents feel instantly settled.
"We have watched the retirement market grow from strength to strength and noticed how many of our three- and four-bedroom properties were selling to the young retired people moving out of a larger family home but still wanting space and a high degree of comfort.
"The age-exclusive concept has advanced from what people previously regarded as a retirement scheme and has grown into high-specification homes for discerning buyers. The NONY concept has evolved, is here to stay and will continue to get better and better, which is good news for those of us rapidly heading in that direction."
The development seems to contradict the push towards mixed developments that the present government continues to espouse; and indeed Countryside did attempt to increase the number of units to include a number of affordable homes. This was with the backing of The National Trust, which wanted to maximise the returns for the benefit of the estate. Countryside was eventually turned down at appeal and reverted to this scheme, which already had consent.
Some developers may be inhibited by this push towards a 'social mix' but up in East Anglia the bungalow king, Bennett Homes, is moving with the times. Whereas the company gained a deserved reputation for building excellent bespoke bungalows, largely for London-based workers seeking a gentle retirement in Suffolk and Norfolk (often close to the seaside) it now caters for the whole spectrum, from starter homes through 'executive' pads to houses suitable for relaxed retirement .
At the helm now is a young man, Edward Parker, whose father Nigel steered the company through good times and bad for the best part of 40 years.
"Over the next few years we will see the retirement of the post-war baby-boomers and this is a great opportunity for companies such as Bennett Homes," says Edward.
"These people have benefited from economic growth. They are incredibly active and independently minded, determined to enjoy their mature years to the full, often with a second home in the UK or abroad.
"Low maintenance features will become increasingly important as the years progress, as will local amenities and cultural attractions. More than anything, however, we anticipate a growth in demand for lock-up-and-leave property, perhaps with a degree of low-level assistance through a management company, catering for increasing numbers who wish to fly off every winter to their home in the sun."
So a development doesn't have to be described as 'retirement' to appeal to the retired - pretty obvious to us now but it has taken quite a while to sink in. Some advertisement these days describe houses as being "tailored to the lifestyle of the retired" while not necessarily prohibiting younger people from buying them.
So important has this vibrant (and profitable) segment of the market become that next month Show House speaks to several specialists to find out their views on what the future holds.
First published in Show House Magazine July 2007.
The greatest care has been taken to ensure accuracy but some information contained within this article may have changed since it was first published.
Posted by David Hoppit
in Bennett Homes, Countryside Properties, David Wilson Homes, Features, The National Trust on Sun 1 Jul 2007
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