Working with homebuyers in the 55-and-over age bracket could reap huge rewards for real estate agents, as experts predict that segment of the population will be a driving force in the industry during the next several years. But to effectively tap into the potentially lucrative market, a creative marketing plan is essential.

At the recent Massachusetts Association of Realtors convention in Falmouth, organizers scheduled a seminar to specifically address the so-called “active-adult/lifestyle community.” And as a testament to the importance of that market in the industry, the class drew a standing-room-only crowd.

“The number of agents working with adult community properties will increase significantly over the next few years,” Richard Carlson of Carlson Communications in Northborough told the Realtors. “Pretty soon all of you will probably be working with them in one form or another.”

Carlson’s firm is a marketing and communications company that specializes in marketing new home communities throughout New England, and has worked with several of the region’s active-adult communities.

Marketing homes to the 55-and-over population presents some unique challenges for the real estate agent that must be addressed, Carlson said. For example, their decision to move often is based on a lifestyle choice, not a need to relocate.

Also, customers in that group also generally do not have a real sense of urgency associated with moving, Carlson said. Buyers also tend to have special home design preferences, as well as special interests that they would like to see being met if they chose to move to one of the new communities.

“These are just guidelines, they’re not gospel,” Carlson said, “and you need to treat it as such and apply it to your own unique situation.

“It’s a complex market, and it’s getting more complex every day. Society’s notion of what retirement is changes every day,” he continued.

Because the potential homebuyer does not necessarily need to move, effective advertising and marketing is essential, he said.

“It’s a lifestyle decision, not a needs-based decision,” he said. “How are you going to get [the buyer] out of their house, where they’ve held their kids’ birthday parties all these years?”

Carlson suggested promoting a lifestyle rather than a product when marketing, including maintenance-free living convenient to shopping and loved ones. When working on a direct-mail campaign, he suggested using targeted mailing lists and sending material that has large type and is legible enough for the 55-and-over audience to read easily.

Despite the challenges of courting the buyer, the market is a large one. Interest has been strong in Oak Point, a 55-and-over community under construction in Middleborough that will eventually have 700 units of housing. Southport, a similar community under construction in the Cape Cod town of Mashpee with 750 residences planned, is also reporting early successes. The Pinehills in Plymouth, a mixed-use community with 2,854 planned residences with many slated for 55-and-over homebuyers, has generated interest as well. Several adult communities have also sprung up in the MetroWest area in communities near Interstate 495.

In Norwell, Modern Continental is building a 40-unit 55-and-over residential community called Donovan’s Farm.

Though the project is not expected to be completed until the end of 2001, and right now is little more than a few holes in the ground, the company has already inked 13 purchase and sales agreements and secured three more reservations.

Donovan’s Farm Sales Manager Jean Clark said the Modern Continental name behind the project likely played a role in convincing buyers to sign on the dotted line, but added that the right kind of marketing was key.

“We sent out direct mailings,” she said. “They don’t necessarily want to move, but we offer them an alternative.” While first targeting Norwell residents, Clark said, plans include mailings to residents in other upscale cities and towns where new developments might not be available.

Set among several acres of green space with walking trails, single-family units at Donovan’s Farm currently start at $427,700; the four duplex units list for slightly less than $400,000.

Not only is marketing to homebuyers important, but the way the projects are perceived by the public is also critical, Clark said.

“There were some newspaper stories that described the community as elderly, and people got mad,” she said. “People did not like that connotation.”

Modern Continental’s clustered development, like similar communities, features single-floor living – including master suites – although additional bedrooms and baths are located on second floors. But in order to avoid the connotation of a senior citizen community, Donovan’s Farm is shying away from touting arthritis-friendly door handles or grab bars in the bathrooms. “We’re not putting those in unless people specifically want them,” Clark said.

Senior Specialists
For the upper end of the 55-and-over market, Realtors nationwide are starting to earn the Senior Real Estate Specialist accreditation. That program was started about five years ago in California and is slowly making its way east.

According to MAR, recent data show only about five of its members being listed as being a “Senior Specialist,” but a spokesman said that number has likely grown.

While older homebuyers may have chosen to relocate to places like Florida or other warm-climate areas in the past, adult communities are not necessarily climate-driven today, Carlson said. For example, homebuyers may want to leave behind the maintenance associated with owning a house, while still being able to live close to their families. Additionally, cities and towns in Massachusetts and beyond appear willing to accept these new developments.

“Why are these so popular?” Carlson asked. “Towns see them as a great source of tax revenue, with no new burden on the school system.”

Carlson suggested that those agents involved with the active adult homebuying market conduct surveys to find out what the people want and, if possible, use that information before the communities get built.

“You should have focus groups and conduct mail surveys and telephone surveys,” he said. “Find out how they feel about certain things and build for that. Often developers will just go ahead and build what they think will work and hope people come.”