The Australian retirement living sector trends towards vertical communities and new developments provide more services to residents are the two biggest take-outs from the 2018 PwC/Property Council Retirement Census.
Launched at the Retirement Living Summit in Canberra last week, the census reveals that nearly 30 per cent of all retirement communities under development have vertical village components, compared with 15 per cent of existing developments.
The census covered more than 68,000 units – a new record for the annual report.
Entry into a retirement village remains affordable, at an average of 64 per cent of the price of the median two-bedroom house price across Australia (44% in Sydney and 55% in Melbourne).
Ninety-seven per cent of new developments have at least five facilities or services, including healthcare and recreational options.
PwC’s real estate advisory partner Tony Massaro says the retirement living industry is becoming “more sophisticated”, and this is reflected in the census results.
“The broader range of facilities offered, an increase in vertical villages and greater variety and flexibility of fee structures reflects a determined focus on meeting the demands of the next generation of retirees,” Massaro says.
The average age of a retirement living resident has increased to 81, while the average age of entry remains 75. Just two per cent of current residents are now aged under 70.
Village occupancy remains strong at an average of 89 per cent nationally.
According to Ben Myers, executive director of Retirement Living at the Property Council, the census confirms that the industry is responding to changing resident needs, and also highlights some challenges for the industry.
“Despite a strong pipeline of units coming to the market over the next four years, the industry is struggling to access land and planning approvals to supply purpose-built housing for rapidly increasing number of older Australians,” Myers explains.
Myers says time on market for re-sales is increasing, which reflects the broader real estate trend as the residential market cools.
Retirement living stars in the spotlight
The National Retirement Living Awards were also held as part of the Summit at a gala ceremony at 
Aliccia Azzimi, the national sales and marketing manager for Lendlease’s retirement living development business, took out the Ingenia Award for Future Retirement Living Leader for driving community engagement, marketing and sales across 3,000 units – the largest development pipeline in the industry.
And Warrigal Shell Cove retirement community in Shellharbour was presented with the Opticomm Award for Retirement Living Innovation for a ground-breaking service delivery model based on social connectedness.
A full list of winners and the results from the 2018 Retirement Living Census are available online.