• March 29, 2024
 Retirement property development – important investment for our future?

Retirement property development – important investment for our future?

Property experts are calling for more retirement homes to be built, speaking about the vast benefits these communities can establish. With just 2.8% of all property within the UK reportedly being built for retirement purposes, older people are set to face an impending shortage.

Research has shown around a quarter of those who are over 55 would consider relocating to a dedicated retirement village — which currently stands at 4.4 million people. It’s also estimated that the volume of people aged over 60 is set to triple across the globe by 2050. If demand of this scale isn’t met, plans to move into such a community are put in jeopardy.

Purpose built retirement homes and villages include any property developed with older people in mind. They usually allow a certain level of independent living, and often have extra care facilities on site. Care homes aren’t included as part of this type of property.

Head of UK Residential Research at Knight Frank, Grainne Gilmore, says retirement housing is an integral step towards easing the burden within the care sector. She also raises the point that it allows the elderly to live within the home environment for longer.

Further reports has also deemed the UK as being far behind other countries in terms of retirement property development. Industry leaders are urging the Government to keep to strict plans for developing these purpose-built communities. However the volume of failed builds is reportedly on the increase and there are double the number of pending planning applications than there are properties being constructed.

Do you see the value in developing such vast retirement communities across the country? Should there be more investment in nursing homes and hospital care units, or should older people be given the opportunity to remain as independent as possible?

 

Heather Cameron