Retirement Living News

March 2006

HEADLINES  (Click on headline to read story)

* Experts Say Boomers Embrace Urban Living 
With Varied Housing Types and Styles
* Pulte Homes to Open Sales Offices for 23 Del Webb Communities This Year
* Harvard and MetLife Launch National Media Campaign to "Reinvent Aging"
* AARP Reports on Decline in Health Care Indicators 
and Income for Mid-life and Older Americans
* New Real Estate Web Site Provides Valuations 
and Data on More Than 60 Million Homes
* New Book: Senior Moments: A Book for Seniors and Those Who Love Them

Archive of Past Issues                          New Retirement Communities

NEWS STORIES

Experts Say Boomers Embrace Urban Living With 
Varied Housing Types and Styles 

Today's 50+ consumers demand variety in housing types and styles and want to be close to urban centers, say experts at the National Association of Home Builders' 50+ Housing Council. Builders and developers are breaking from traditional "retirement community" design to accommodate the evolving needs and desires of the increasingly diverse older population. 

According to Council experts, active adult development is moving away from far-flung rural areas and isolated, gated communities to business hubs and commercial centers. New 50+ buyers want to be connected to life outside their own communities and don't want to have to drive to get to shopping and entertainment. Having a connection to the larger community is essential. 

"It is unwise to generalize about boomers and seniors," says Mike Kephart, AIA, principal of Denver-based KEPHART, a nationally recognized community design firm. "They are as diverse as the entire population in their passions, needs and interests. Builders recognize that they must provide a rich variety of choices for these sophisticated, educated, and active people." 

When developing active adult communities, builders must consider transportation alternatives, says Kephart. Today's 50+ consumers want developments offering a range of housing types and prices and access to commercial and retail services, restaurants, entertainment, education and nature. 

"In the past, housing for mature buyers was targeted at massive planned communities and various levels of assisted living," says Tim Sullivan, president of Sullivan Group Real Estate Advisors in San Diego, Calif. "But today's buyers are now a major target for nearly every kind of housing product." 

Sullivan noted that developers are reacting to the growing diversity in the 50+ consumer base by expanding their product offerings. Low-rise, high-density attached housing is gaining favor over traditional, single-family communities.

According to Sullivan, one new product type that fits both the urban and suburban landscape is "podium" style: up to four stories of wood-framed construction atop one or two levels of below-ground or at-grade parking. Popular in Southern California and gaining interest across the country, communities like these are typically in town or close to urban centers. Residents can shop and socialize with their neighbors without getting in their cars, noted Sullivan. 

Today's 50+ buyers also influence marketing. Florida-based builder Michael Rich sees traditional ways of "interrupting" consumers, such as TV and newspaper ads and junk mail, losing their appeal, while blogs and "consumer fan clubs" are quickly proving how well they work. "Anticipated, personal and relevant advertising always does better than unsolicited junk, especially with Web-savvy boomers," says Rich. 
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Pulte Homes to Open Sales Offices 
at 23 New Del Webb Communities This Year

The oldest Baby Boomers are turning the big 6-0 and Pulte Homes is opening one Del Webb community after another to welcome them home. In 2006, the company plans to open 23 new communities under its Del Webb brand, ranging in size from intimate settings of 350-plus homes to large-scale communities in excess of 7,000 homes. Combined, these 23 new communities are expected to account for nearly 41,000 homes at final build-out. 

Pulte Homes is America's largest builder of active adult communities. David G. Schreiner, Vice President of Active Adult Business Development for Pulte Homes, says "We need to continue to deliver high-quality, vibrant communities that these Boomers and other active adults expect from Del Webb, while helping them to define their next phase in life. "Shuffleboard and bingo are out. Hot-air ballooning and kayaking are in. These activities and more have been seen at Del Webb communities across the country as Baby Boomers redefine and reshape retirement to match their interests, says the company. Staying in-step with today's Baby Boomers is the challenge. Del Webb communities are creating flexible physical and social infrastructures that can quickly adapt to ever-changing Boomer needs and desires. 

The 23 Del Webb communities expected to open for sale from now through the end of 2006 include: 

WESTERN U.S. 
Northern California 
-- Copper Ridge by Del Webb at Fox Hills, Los Banos, sales begin fall 2006, 350 homes; 
-- Woodbridge by Del Webb, Manteca, sales begin spring 2006, 1,400 homes; 
-- Glenbrooke by Del Webb, Elk Grove, sales begin late 2006, 600 homes; 
-- The Club by Del Webb, Roseville, sales begin spring 2006, 700 homes. Southern California 
-- Solera at Rancho Diamante by Del Webb, Hemet, sales begin summer 2006, 1,000 homes; 
-- Monterra Springs by Del Webb, Hot Springs, sales begin fall 2006, 1,750 homes; 
-- Eastlake Peninsula by Del Webb, Chula Vista, sales begin fall 2006, 500 homes. 
Arizona 
-- Sun City Festival, Buckeye, sales begin spring 2006, 7,200 homes; 
-- Sun City Anthem at Merrill Ranch, Florence, sales begin spring 2006, 4,200 homes. 
Texas 
-- Frisco Lakes by Del Webb, Frisco, sales begin early 2006, 2,400 homes; 
-- Hill Country Retreat by Del Webb, San Antonio, sales begin late summer 2006, 2,000 homes. 

MID-WESTERN U.S. 
Illinois 
-- Grand Dominion by Del Webb, Mundelein, sales begin summer 2006, 700 homes; 
-- Westhaven by Del Webb, Yorkville, sales begin fall 2006, 1,000 homes.
Indiana 
-- Britton Falls by Del Webb, Fishers, sales begin fall 2006, 1,000 homes. Michigan 
-- Grand Reserve by Del Webb, Grand Blanc, sales begin late 2006, 450 homes.

EASTERN U.S. 
New Jersey 
-- River Pointe by Del Webb, Manchester Township, sales begin late 2006, 500 homes. 
North Carolina 
-- Carolina Preserve by Del Webb at Amberly, Cary, sales begin early 2006, 1,200 homes. 
South Carolina 
-- Sun City Carolina Lakes, Lancaster County, sales begin spring 2006, 4,400 homes. 
Georgia 
-- The Village at Deaton Creek by Del Webb, Hall County, sales begin summer 2006, 1,300 homes. 
Florida 
-- Brookdale Country Club by Del Webb, Collier County, sales begin late 2006, 2,400 homes; 
-- Riverwood at Nocatee, Town of Nocatee, sales begin mid-2006, 2,100 homes; 
-- La Cresta by Del Webb at Ridgewood Lakes, Orlando, sales begin summer 2006, 1,450 homes; 
-- Wiregrass Country Club by Del Webb, Wesley Chapel, sales begin late 2006, 2,300 homes. 

More than 50 percent of Baby Boomers live in nine states (as of the 2000 U.S. Census): California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and New Jersey. Currently, there are 19 Del Webb communities open for sale in these states, with an additional 17 scheduled to open by the end of 2006. For more information on any of these communities, visit www.delwebb.com.
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Harvard and MetLife Launch National Media Campaign 
to "Reinvent Aging" 

With the Baby Boomer Generation marking its milestone 60th birthday this year, the Harvard School of Public Health and MetLife Foundation have launched a national media campaign to promote healthy aging, reshape cultural attitudes toward the older years, and encourage Boomers to volunteer their time, skills, and experience to help strengthen local communities. The campaign also will challenge the Hollywood creative community to re-think current portrayals of older people in film and television. 

In a TV public service announcement (PSA) produced by the campaign, former President Bill Clinton says, "In the latter stages of your life, you want to carve out some time to give the gifts you have received from others to people who are younger than you are, to enrich their lives, to give whatever it is you think you gleaned from life back to them." The former president, who turns 60 this year, urges Boomers to "Share what you know. Become a mentor." 

In another PSA campaign, music impresario Quincy Jones says, "They say when you're over the hill, that's when you pick up speed. The 'silver foxes' are the greatest force out there. [They've] got so much to give, so much to say." Quincy Jones encourages Boomers to "share what you know" by volunteering as mentors to at-risk youth. 

Thanks to advances in public health and medicine, the average 60-year-old today can expect to live to the age of 83, and millions will continue well into their 90s. This longevity revolution has spawned a new, largely unrecognized stage of life, nestled between middle-age and old-age, spanning the period from 60 to 80. The media campaign will employ a combination of news coverage, advertising, and prime-time entertainment programming, to encourage a "balanced portfolio" of priorities for this new stage of life that makes room for community volunteering as well as for work, family, leisure, travel, and lifelong learning.

In a special initiative, the Harvard School of Public Health and MetLife Foundation have partnered with PARADE magazine to invite it 75 million readers to help name the new stage of life that the oldest boomers are about to enter. It asks readers to suggest new language to substitute for "senior citizen," "elderly," and "old," and to address such questions as, "How would you define the meaning and purpose of this stage of life?" and "What are your thoughts on society's expectations of and attitudes towards its older citizens?" Some of the most interesting ideas and comments will be published in the March 19, 2006 issue of PARADE, and will be posted on www.ReinventingAging.org, the web site of the Harvard School of Public Health - MetLife Foundation Initiative on Retirement and Civic Engagement.
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AARP Reports on Decline in Health Care Indicators 
and Income for Mid-life and Older Americans

The AARP issued its latest annual "State of 50+ America" report in January. The report shows that despite the nation's growing economy, the income of most mid-life and older Americans has not increased since the late 1990's, and has in fact decreased over the past year. Although the year-to-year changes are slight, AARP continues to be concerned about the cumulative effect of rapidly rising health care costs, the uncertain future of pensions, and threats to the guaranteed benefit of Social Security that the majority of Americans rely on as their primary source of retirement income. 

Other key findings include: 

• In addition to health care affordability, the percent of 50+ Americans reporting their health as excellent or very good-a widely-used measure of health-declined slightly between 2003 and 2004 from 47.5 percent to 47 percent. 
• Real median family income decreased 1.5 percent in the most recent one-year period.
• "About half (50.1 percent) of the population age 62 and older received more than half of their income from sources other than Social Security in 2004, a slight increase from the previous year. 
• More than half of Americans age 50+ (55 percent) said that housing costs are a larger share of their budget today compared to five years ago.
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New Real Estate Web Site Provides Valuations 
and Data on More Than 60 Million Homes

There is a new, well-designed, free online service for finding the value of a home that doesn't require you to identify yourself or to communicate with an agent or broker. Last month Zillow.com announced the launch of its beta real estate site, offering free, unbiased valuations on more than 40 million homes across the United States, with data on an additional 20 million homes. This includes most homes in the country. All consumers need to do is enter an address. 

Zillow started the beta (or test) version of its service with the goal of empowering consumers with tools and information to transform how they buy and sell homes.

In addition to finding a valuation, or Zestimate™ value for homes, consumers can access and view an enormous amount of information on individual homes, including: 
- Historical value changes for each home, charted over the past year, five years or ten years. 
- Historical value changes for each home as compared to its surrounding zip code, city, state or the entire U.S.
- All comparable home sales in a neighborhood or area. 
- Satellite, aerial and parcel views of many homes.
- Individual home data, such as number of bedrooms/bathrooms, square footage, lot size, stories, property taxes, and year built. 

A home need not be for sale to be searched by Zillow. While the company does not have access to Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data, it does draw on roughly 10 commercial providers of real estate data. These firms provide information such as a home's sale history, tax assessment and payment history, comparable home sale prices, and number of rooms in a home.

The site is fast, broad and deep. It's easy to use and is nicely laid out. It even offers to e-mail updates on its estimates for any property that interests you. However, there's one major caveat. At least for now, while Zillow is in its beta phase, its data is spotty. For some parts of the country, Zillow has lots of good data, and it works really well. For other areas, it is still collecting and compiling figures and maps, so its results are limited or it can't provide an estimate at all. Also, different cities and counties collect different types of information, which creates big variations in the quality of data. Zillow covers condos in multiple-unit buildings, since they're usually listed in government records as separate homes. It has trouble with co-ops in New York City and certain similar kinds of dwellings in San Francisco. 

Over time, Zillow hopes to have solid estimates for all areas. For now, though, it works best in metro areas like Seattle, San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Cleveland. Results are weaker in metro areas like Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. And they are weaker still in metro areas like New York, Houston and St. Louis. For some cities, including Washington, D.C. (but not its suburbs), Zillow has so little information -- so far -- that all it can offer is a tax assessment, not a true estimate. Because of these issues, Zillow can only generate estimates today for 42 million of its 62 million listed homes. For the others, it offers only basic facts. A link on Zillow's home page takes you to a separate page that reports on how much data and how much accuracy Zillow claims in counties all over the nation, as of that moment.
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New Book: Senior Moments: A Book for Seniors and 
Those Who Love Them

Many elder law books for consumers do an excellent job of covering the "nuts and bolts" topics of the field, such as Medicaid and Medicare, guardianships, and estate planning. But this book goes well beyond this, covering the human side of aging and offering solutions to issues that many other references overlook. 

It is written by Jacqueline D. Byrd who serves as secretary of the Maryland/DC Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She also writes the weekly "Senior Moments" column for the Bowie Blade-News. 

As Byrd explains in her introduction, a "senior moment" means more than momentarily forgetting a name; here it refers to the many issues and challenges facing the aging population and those who care for them. With each passing year, more and more Americans of any age are experiencing such "senior moments."

Byrd's compassion for the struggles of the elderly and those who love them is evident on every page. It is fitting that the book starts off with a generous section on the role of caregiving, where readers can find helpful counsel like "10 Caregiver Burnout Warning Signs" and tips for visiting a loved one in a nursing home, including a list of gifts to bring. 

Topics in subsequent chapters that won't be found in many other such books include a discussion of the myths surrounding the health care privacy law (HIPAA), advice on communicating with Alzheimer's patients, how to find community support to help a senior stay at home, questions to ask before entering a residential facility, planning ahead for a nursing home stay, and legal issues involved in the raising of grandchildren. Each section ends with a long list of resources. 

Although the author occasionally illustrates her points by referencing programs or circumstances in her home state of Maryland, readers in other states with slightly differing rules should still find the discussion useful. The 314-page book is available from Amazon.com for $17.95. 
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