Aging might be getting a little easier. Along with advances in medicine, senior citizens now have more housing options to consider as they age. Developments geared toward the over-55 set have been springing up all over the state, almost to the point of saturating the market in some places.
Staying home longer is also now a more realistic option for seniors. Some Connecticut remodelers and designers have become experts in retrofitting existing homes with amenities such as grab bars in showers that allow the elderly to remain at home.
Over-55 developments – which are usually subdivisions made up of condominiums or single-family houses with amenities like master bedrooms on the first floor and which are restricted to people over 55 years old – are a favorite of town governments, because they bring in tax money while not putting much of a strain on town services the way schools do. They have grown in popularity as baby boomers have aged.
“It’s picked up quickly in the Northeast,” said William Kane, an appraiser with Cheshire-based Wellspeak Dugas & Kane who focuses on age-restricted housing.
But the developments are not for everyone, Kane said. About 20 percent to 30 percent of older homeowners – 80 percent of those 65 and older own homes – will move into age-restricted housing, Kane said. So with the number of people hitting their 55th birthday expected to grow until 2020, that leaves a significant portion of older people who want to remain in their own homes.
“There’s still quite a number of elderly that want to stay home,” Kane said.
‘An Emerging Market’
But staying home can mean changes are necessary. Getting up and down stairs can be more difficult for some, so having a master bedroom on the first floor can help people stay at home longer. Bathrooms and kitchens that are functional for younger adults aren’t always as safe or accessible as their users age.
“The market for home repairs is probably going to be a big one and is probably going to grow,” Kane said.
In Connecticut, 17 builders and designers are specially trained to remodel existing homes for the elderly. The 17 hold the designation of Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist, or CAPS. The designation has been offered since May 2002, according to the National Association of Home Builders, which oversees the awarding of the designation. About 500 people nationwide hold the designation and 1,000 more are in the process of earning it, according to the NAHB.
The program was the result of a collaboration between the NAHB and advocacy groups for the elderly, according to Peter McLoughlin of CFR Construction in Newtown, a remodeler who holds the CAPS designation.
“It was very well thought-out and planned and coordinated at the national level,” he said.
Kevin Ahern, president of Hamden-based Litchfield Builders, earned the designation about 18 months ago. Ahern said he got the designation because his company has a high focus on education and because he wanted the ability to sell to a different market. So far, remodeling the homes of elderly people is accounting for more than 5 percent of his business, he said.
“I think it’s a growing market,” he said. “It’s definitely on an upswing.”
Most of Ahern’s projects are centered in the bathroom, putting in more accessible showers and toilets, he said. But sometimes his company handles larger projects. Last year, it added a master suite onto the first floor of a four-bedroom Colonial home. The husband and wife living there were the parents of grown children and had the house to themselves. The new master bedroom allowed them to stay comfortably in their home while still having the upstairs bedrooms available for visitors.
Often, though, Ahern does projects for older adults who are moving in with their children, he said, or for someone who is bringing their children to live in their home.
McLoughlin also earned the CAPS designation about a year and a half ago. Although remodeling homes for the elderly doesn’t yet make up a big part of his business, he hopes demand will increase in the future.
“I think it’s an emerging market,” he said.
There are several components to the education behind the CAPS designation, according to the NAHB’s Web site. The three-day program “teaches the strategies and techniques for marketing, designing and building aesthetically enriching, barrier-free living environments,” according to the site.
One aspect on which the program focuses is working with and marketing to older adults, according to the site. An important step is the first interview with a potential client. Often, clients aren’t sure of the type of work they will need in their house, McLoughlin said. The builder has to ask how they use the bathroom and kitchen, how they move between floors, whether it is difficult for them to get in and out of the house and whether they have any special circumstances, such as if they have people over to play bridge once a week, he said.
“Lots of times the client is not aware of [all of those needs],” he said.
The next aspect of the education focuses on codes and standards and common barriers and solutions, according to the Web site. The builder needs to know the measurements of the home, such as how wide the doors are and how much clearance there is between the toilet and the sink, McLoughlin said.
“There are hundreds of these things,” he said.
The builder has to go to the home and take a survey on the physical characteristics that help or hinder the homeowner’s safe movements, McLoughlin said.
The builders also learn the guidelines and recommendations on how to do the work. Those recommendations can often make the remodeling more affordable. The builders learn that it is often possible to make a dishwasher or sink accessible to someone in a wheelchair without tearing apart an entire kitchen, McLoughlin said.
Some builders – those without a previous education that included a business component – also learn about business management, according to the NAHB’s Web site.