Retirement village finance models and the DMF: right or wrong

Chairperson of the Terrapinn conference, Jim Hazel, opened the with the statement that banks, financiers and actuaries have got the feasibility model for the village sector all wrong, based on the simple fact that people are living longer, which means a deferral of the DMF. Countering this is the view of Justin Laboo of Aveo. People are joining his villages later, at age 80 to 82, with length of stay moving from 11 years down to 9 years. He has also noted that up to 40% of new residents only stay 3 to 4 years. Aveo villages are older stock, a negative for attracting younger people, while financiers are looking at new developments to attract 72 to 75 year olds – so perhaps both Jim and Justin are both right.