Baby Boomers are the wealthiest generation in the country but rarely is this fact acknowledged in the advertising spend aimed at them.
So, it was pleasing to see Bolton Clarke's slick advertisement Heart of Positive Ageing and the one for “Multi award winning” over-55s CAPs (Community Apartments) development by Alceon, Akoya Greenwich, in the Sydney Morning Herald and Good Weekend magazine respectively on Saturday, providing the messages that consumers are seeking to read.
Akoya also has former NSW Premier Nick Greiner as a resident after he paid $6.25 million for an apartment which looks onto Sydney Harbour. Prices for one-bedroom apartments started at $1.35 million on its 2021 launch, so Nick's capture represents power and wealth, a target market not necessarily thought achieveable five years ago.
Then 24 hours later, in the Sun-Herald, the over-55s development Hyegrove Willoughby paid for an entire page headlined “Five Star services and aged care if needed”. Again, it appeals to those who want to live on in style and contemplate one move only.
This is new territory for the sector as it looks to cash in on the surging ageing and wealthy population.
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the dire reality of how old our communities, particulalry those in regional areas, have become over a relatively short period. Tea Gardens - Hawks Nest, NSW, has a median age of 66.2 years, Bribie Island 63.6 years and Cooloola 62.4 in Queensland, and Point Lonsdale-Queenscliff 62.2 years in Victoria.
Village operators need to be prepared to up ad spend
This really is a golden age for retirement living operators who are prepared to spend. If not, newcomers will come in and steal their thunder. Look at what is happening right now in the land lease communities sector.
The Weekly SOURCE reports today the Lowy Family Group-backed Assembly Funds Management, in a joint venture with developer and operator Elka Capital, has already bought two development sites in northern Victoria for what it says will become a 10-plus land lease community portfolio worth more than $500 million.
This follows alternative real estate fund manager GreenFort Capital and Gaw Capital buying two land lease communities in Queensland's Gympie region, as part of plans for an $800 million portfolio; and Macquarie Real Estate Partners committing $2.85 billion to the land lease sector and announcing it will be the operator, not just an investor.
Has the goose that lays the golden eggs flown from retirement villages and turned to luxurious over-55s CAPs developments and land lease communities?
If you are struggling to fill your retirement village, look to villages.com.au which has devised several strategies that attract more than just interest, but actual buyers. Contact by email Adrian Leppard and/or Alex Jovovic.
