Category: Active adult communities
March 24 -- The stereotype would have you think that the hordes of baby boomers moving into active adult communities can't wait to move into a smaller house. According to a new study from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), however, the reality is somewhat different.
The study, "Profile of the 50+ Housing Market", points out that more than 85 million people will be 55+ by 2014. Many will be buying in homes specifically built for 55+ buyers, and these won't be all that small - the average home will still have more than 2 bedrooms and over 2,000 square feet for living. Yards and other maintenance-requiring items will be downsized, however.
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Published on March 24, 2008
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Category: Active adult communities
March 18 - Maybe it is the softer market for real estate and active adult communities. It could be a bold move to capture market share when many real estate developers are down. Or perhaps it is just an awakening to the possibilities. Whatever the reasons, a number of leading active adult communities have been on an advertising tear lately, placing their ads in venues where they haven't been seen before.
Leading the charge has been The Villages, the active adult behemoth south of Ocala, FL. Anybody who has been watching golf on network television lately has been exposed to their messages many times by now. In Topretirements' experience, this is the first time that a retirement community has gone to national television to look for prospects.
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Published on March 18, 2008
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Category: General Retirement Issues
March 11 - They've dreamed about it, and they have talked about it. Many have actually planned for it. But the one thing they have in common is this - just about everybody is worried about it. The "it" being retirement, which is drawing nearer and nearer for tens of millions of U.S. baby boomers.
Conversations on various discussion retirement forums on this site and at other baby boomer communities such as www.city-data.com reveal another side to the current retirement community diaspora that it is about to happen. That side of retirement and retirement communities is an anxious one, showing a depth
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Published on March 11, 2008
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Category: Travel
March 4, 2008 -- Here's a different approach to selecting a retirement community - don't bother. Instead, why not travel the world. It can be cheaper, and it certainly will be more interesting than staying in one place. Topretirements came across 3 such recommendations this week, so there must be something to it.
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, the dynamic former President of George Washington University, proposed on his higher education blog that one might consider taking up Cunard Lines on its
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Published on March 4, 2008
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Category: Active adult communities
February 28 – If you are a person that likes to be active, have we got the place for you! It’s The Villages in north central Florida. Spread over a 5 X 12 mile site, there is plenty of room for just about everything. In fact it has so many…
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Published on February 28, 2008
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Category: Baby Boomer Retirement Issues
February 24 -- According to a duo of college professors, suburbia as we know it is headed for trouble. Their prediction is that McMansion-land could become the next depressed "outer cities", filled with blight, poverty, and crime. Once again baby boomer demographic trends are among the culprits.
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Published on February 24, 2008
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
February 20 - You've heard it before, Americans don't save enough. Unfortunately, failure to follow this sage advice is going to mean a bleak retirement for many baby boomers, unless they get very busy. The Motley Fool's recent article, "Prepare for a Gruesome Retirement", shows just how pathetic those savings are. Of boomers aged 55+, 42% have saved less than $25,000, and only 50% have saved more than $50,000.
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Published on February 20, 2008
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
February 17 - Sales of existing homes in the 4th quarter of 2007 continued the slide seen earlier in the year. According to the National Association of Realtors sales fell in 45 states; down 21% on a national basis vs. the year ago quarter. The median price declined a record 5.8% in the quarter. Prices increased in about half of the markets surveyed.
Hardest hit were Las Vegas, Jackson (MS), Sacramento, and the Riverside and Orange County areas of southern California. Foreclosures are often cited as the major cause of the declines. But all the news wasn't bad, showing that real estate is nothing if not local. Bucking the trend
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Published on February 17, 2008
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Category: Active adult communities
One of the primary drivers of where people choose to retire is the ability to be near loved ones. Often the perfect choice is a home that is close, but not too close, to those loved ones.
Now the over 55 community industry is joining in on that trend. One of their answers is to be seen in Victoria Park in central Florida near DeLand. This huge development is truly multi-generational, with traditional single family homes. Victoria Gardens also includes a special section, Victoria Gardens, which is a gated and age-restriction community within the overall development.
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Published on February 13, 2008
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Category: International Retirement
February 6 – Here is a great opportunity to vacation in beautiful Costa Rica, famous for its natural surroundings Topretirements is pleased to announce a partnership with Boomers in Costa Rica, a firm owned by U.S. expatriates Andrew Mastrandonas and Preston Gitlin. They have been leading the most reliable real…
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Published on February 6, 2008
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