More ageing retirees going into communal housing options
LONDON: The elderly are turning to communal living in big numbers following the loneliness of COVID lockdowns.
Pressure from concerned “helicopter children” has added to a shift towards retirement villages.
Amanda Graham, chief executive of downsizing.com.au, said the pandemic “highlighted the disadvantages of being isolated in the suburban family home compared with the benefits of living in a retirement community setting with friendly neighbours and support from village managers”.
Research from the property portal showed a third of over-50s said they were more likely to downsize because of COVID-19. Of these, 64 per cent said they were attracted to living with supportive and helpful people.
Key motivators included living near like-minded people and reducing maintenance.
“More over-50s don’t want to be at risk of being separated from friends and family in their suburban family home and are more motivated to move into retirement living where they’ll be part of a friendly and supportive, like-minded community, and perhaps also closer to their adult children and grandchildren,” Ms Graham said.
“We’re also finding that adult children are very concerned about their parents’ wellbeing during COVID and are more likely to be encouraging them to consider the benefits of moving into a retirement community.”
One retirement development helping ease older people into communal living is The Healey in Moorabbin. Its features include a library, bar, games room, Gold Class cinema, formal and informal dining rooms and outdoor entertaining with a pizza oven.
The Healey resident Anne Peek moved in during September 2021 after her husband Tony, a long-serving AFL executive, died in 2019.
“I was by myself for a year in a larger home and starting to think about an apartment,” she said. “Then COVID hit and two years of lockdown consolidated my decision to look for a boutique set-up in an apartment block. I wanted people around me but also privacy and independence.”
The Property Council’s Retirement Snapshot also shows the retirement industry had more sales inquiries as a result of COVID-19.
