As the number of nuclear families is going up, the demand for housing societies for senior citizens — still a nascent concept in the country — is picking up pace. However, market experts believe it is imperative for both the government and private players to recognise the potential and provide homes to the elderly at affordable rates.

Statistics show that elderly population in the country is expected to grow to 173 million by 2026.

Challenges

The sector, however, suffers from its own set of challenges. Lack of skilled professionals to look after the elderly is one among them.

“Besides, the cost of overall maintenance of these homes is significantly higher, depending on the type of facilities on offer,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock. Lack of trained manpower in not just designing these projects but also in executing and operating them is also quite challenging, he added.

Also, as it is difficult to get a loan, a lot of these homebuyers have to take the flats by liquidating another property.

“In our Bhiwadi project, only 10 per cent of the buyers took loan to get a flat and the rest all paid us in cheque,” said Ankur Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Ashiana Housing.

Ashiana Housing came up with 1,600 units in this segment in the last five years, out of which 1200 are currently occupied.

Less private participation

The number of developers venturing into the segment is still low. “There are hardly any incentives being offered by the Central government to encourage the participation of private players in this realty segment,” said Puri.

Industry experts believe that as seniors today have more exposure they know best how they want to spend time post retirement. Therefore, it is imperative for more private players to foray into this segment and cash in on the growing opportunity.

Preferred cities

Various factors are taken into consideration while choosing a location for setting up these societies, such as the percentage of old age people living in a city on their own, their per capita income etc.

However, it is mainly outskirts or smaller cities that are the preferred destinations for builders of these projects. “Cleaner air, less traffic and low cost of acquisition make them preferable,” said Mudassir Zaidi, Executive Director (North), Knight Frank India.

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