Across Connecticut, aging baby boomers are driving up sales of homes that offer swimming pools, woodland hiking paths and golf courses. But no stairs.
As the generation that shrieked at the Beatles and the Rolling Stones move into their 50s and beyond, they’re spending money on retirement communities that promise a placid but active dotage.
In the past five years, an estimated 30 so-called active-adult communities have been built in Connecticut and about a dozen more are waiting to be approved by municipal land-use boards, The Hartford Courant reported Sunday.
The homes are luxury developments where residents can swim, play golf or hike.
Many cost more than $300,000 with amenities such as exercise facilities, master baths and “total no-maintenance” lifestyles.
Growing Segment
The homes are part of a growing segment of the housing market that began in retiree-rich Florida and now caters to the rising population of men and women 55 and older in Connecticut and elsewhere.
The number of 60-plus residents is expected to increase from 13 percent of the population to 20 percent by 2020, according to the state’s Commission on Aging.
The National Association of Homebuilders estimates the nation’s 50-plus population is growing at a rate of 10,000 a day.
And they have money. They control 74 percent of the nation’s personal finance assets, buy 80 percent of luxury travel sold each year, book 65 percent of all cruises, buy 50 percent of all recreational vehicles and own 52 percent of all the nation’s second or vacation homes.
Once concentrated in upscale communities in the Farmington Valley and along the shoreline, active-adult communities are now found throughout the state.
Some observers worry that too many active-adult communities in one town will create voting blocs that could cause headaches for public officials.
“We know that older people are more likely to vote down school board budgets. By putting them in a homogenous setting just compounds the problem,” said Mark Abrahamson, 64, a sociology professor at the University of Connecticut.
But municipalities favor adults-only communities, which offer property tax revenue without demanding public spending on schools or private roads that course through active-adult communities. (AP)