Troubled real estate is targetting new customers. And they are not young

Mumbai: Senior citizens are emerging as a newcustomer segment for property developers as well as otherallied services providers for creating a proper assistedliving environment for them, say realty experts.

As the number of the elderly population is expected togrow to 173 million by 2025, senior citizens are now beinglooked at as a potential real estate market, according to areport by property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle.A good number of seniors today are independent,financially stable, well-travelled, socially connected, and asa result have well developed thoughts of how they want tospend time after retirement, it said.

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There are around 30 senior living projects in cities likeKochi, Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Pune, Goa, Kolkata,Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bhopal, Jaipur, Delhi, Nagpur and Punjab.

Some of the prominent players in this sector are ParanjpeSchemes, Ashiana Housing, Clover Builders, Max India Groupwhich entered the segment through its Antara Senior Livingproject and Tata Housing.

Tata Housing recently announced Rs 1,200 crore investmentfor developing houses specially designed for senior citizens.According to JLL, majority of these developments have50-100 units in the form of residential complexes, with largerones having over 400 units.

The units vary from 1-3 BHK units, villas and studioapartments with sizes range from 500-2,500 sq ft superbuilt-up (saleable) area. Prices of these apartments vary fromRs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

“Seniors in the country are typically taken care of bytheir children or family members. But now, with the younger generation travelling to different parts of the country andabroad a large segment of seniors today are staying alone,” Disha Direct managing director and CEO Santosh Naik told PTI.

Insecurity, loneliness, restricted ability for physicalwork and daily chores and lack of quality health and geriatriccare are some of the issues the aged often face, he said.It is, therefore, imperative that real estate developersunderstand and acknowledge the unique necessities of theelderly while catering to the sector, Naik said.

“We, along with the Gagan Group, are developing a seniorliving project ‘Nulife’ in Lonavala which will not onlyprovide housing for the elderly but will be equipped with allamenities that such people require at this age,” he added.

The real estate environment being developed for seniorsshould recognise and address these issues to ensure comfort and compatibility with this special population group, anotherindustry expert said.“It should also keep in mind sensitivities to uniquecultural aspects regarding how seniors are treated and offercommunity life upholding their sense of respect and self-esteem,” he said.

A property consultant said that most of the senior livingprojects are positioned at the affordable segment, bearing in mind the fact that the end-consumers are senior citizens withlimited resources and no sources of regular source of income. “However, there has been a gradual shift visible inthe society, with the emergence of financial independent andlifestyle-oriented seniors. This has triggered the growth ofhigh end to luxury senior living products in range of Rs 60lakh to Rs 1 crore and upwards,” he added.

PTI