Benchmarking statistics, economic insights, leadership in action, awards and inspiring international case studies. If you weren’t one of the more than 460 people who gathered at the Gold Coast last week, here’s what you missed.
- Census statistics reveal interesting insights
The 2019 PwC/Property Council Retirement Census took the pulse of a record number of participants: 56 operators across 617 villages and almost 70,000 units.
At an average cost of $459,000, a two-bedroom independent living unit in a retirement village is just 64 per cent the cost of the equivalent median house price in the same suburb.
It also takes an average of 258 days to sell an existing retirement living unit, which includes periods for reinstatement or refurbishment, marketing and settlement. Seventy-one per cent of all villages offer a guaranteed buyback to departing residents, up from 65 per cent in 2018.
But a proposed reform in NSW would require retirement village operators to buy back all units from departing residents in metropolitan areas after six months – more than two months inside the current average selling period.
“This regulation, if introduced, will put severe pressure on retirement village operators and have an adverse impact on older people seeking housing and services solutions,” Ben Myers, executive director of retirement living at the Property Council, warned.
- The economic signposts are positive
The optimism in the air was palpable when ANZ’s head of Australian economics David Plank
took to the stage. There are plenty of promising economic signs: upticks in residential real estate in Sydney and Melbourne, relaxation of credit restrictions, and sentiment about capital values in aged care and seniors housing on the up.
And as the number of Australians aged 65 or over hit 5.5 million by 2020 a massive market for retirement living awaits.
- A strong service ethic offers solutions
With 24 properties across the United States, retirement living leader Lynne Katzmann had insights aplenty. Her innovative Connect4Life model – which she calls “service-enriched housing” has slashed GP visits and hospital admissions at Juniper Communities. If extrapolated across the US population, her approach could deliver potential savings of up to US$15 billion, Katzmann estimated.
After 17 years operating hotels, Generus Living’s founder Graham Wilkinson saw an opportunity to create a luxury retirement living product that stands out from the crowd. He argued that new cohort of customers will expect upscale, service-oriented product – and village companies will begin to brand their product around service, amenity and cost, just as the large hotel chains do.
Beverly Smith, Australian Unity’s executive general manager for retirement communities, agreed. The generation that “has 14 different varieties of Coke” will expect diversity in service offering. People will be prepared to pay more – but they’ll demand more too, Smith said.
- Award winners deserve applause
Seven prestigious prizes were handed over as part of the National Retirement Living Awards, sponsored by Impact Group. Among the winners were Ross Dunning, senior manager of the Arcadia Group’s Rylands of Hawthorn in Melbourne, who took home the Programmed Award for Village Manager of the Year. Stockland’s Jane Flynn’s exceptional customer service and strong sales results were recognised with the Imagine Projects Award for Salesperson of the Year. And Lendlease’s $10-million redevelopment of the Ardency Trebartha village in Elizabeth Bay won the Keeley Green Interior Design Award for Best Refurbishment. Check out the full list of winners.
- The industry’s leaders are taking action
Delegates were given a rundown of the Retirement Living Code of Conduct, new ARVAS accreditation scheme and the development of a village management capability framework.
Leaders at the front line encouraged the industry to introduce the new initiatives “in bite sized chunks” – starting with the Code as a baseline tool for operational improvements.
The first test of the industry’s mettle will be 1 January 2020, when the Code goes live. Myers emphasised that the Retirement Living Council’s team are “on hand” to provide support during the transition – email the team at [email protected] if you have any questions on any of these initiatives.
If you missed this year’s National Retirement Living Summit, then mark Monday 23 to Wednesday 25 November 2020 in your diary, when Australia’s retirement living leaders head back to the Gold Coast for another shot in the arm of inspiration, innovation and insight. Join us.