Our Villages.com.au National Resident Survey 2018 of 19,500 village residents crystallises why customers choose to sell the family home and buy into a retirement village.
“It’s all about me”. They are concerned about their personal future, especially with possible declining health.
They are taking steps to set themselves up for the remainder of their life.
The main reasons they give for leaving home are:
- To downsize while physically capable (63%)
- Their family home become difficult to manage (39%)
- Concern about future health – their own or their partners (36%)
They want to remain independent, while freeing themselves from the burden of an ageing family home.
Key factors in choosing a specific village are:
- They want a safe community to age in (69% extremely/very influential)
- They want a home designed for easy ageing (60%)
- They want somebody to look after their home (On-site maintenance -57%)
- And they want access to medical services (53%) and public transport/shops (47%)
When it comes to the financial concerns of residents, they are focused on their own health expenses.
Leaving a financial nest egg for their children or having funds to assist them does not rate as a concern among the majority of respondents.
Once residents have joined a village they are not concerned about the financial contract that requires the payment of a substantial exit fee, the DMF, which will ultimately reduce their estate for their children.
The exit fee was ranked 12th in importance when they considered the factors that impact their satisfaction (just 1.3%).
It appears for residents of retirement villages, it is “all about me”.
