Rest homes could provide answers to housing crisis
The Auckland housing crisis could be easedif more retirees moved into retirement villages, the former Housing NZ boss-turned chief executive of Metlifecare says.
Glen Sowry believes that if the older generation were prepared to make the move, their properties would become available for younger family members.
‘‘A retirement village is the most efficient way to provide in the housing supply,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s like a lubricant for the housing market.’’
Sowry spent three years as Housing NZ chief executive before leaving in December last year to take the reins of Metlifecare, which runs 24 retirement villages around the North and Upper South Islands.
It’s far from being the solution to Auckland’s housing crisis, he said, but it’s still a staple movement in the market that releases housing.
‘‘We on our own won’t solve the challenge . . . but a resident coming into Greenwich Gardens is going to be selling their family home to purchase a unit.
‘‘People selling family homes, a traditional home, might be a second or third home for someone.’’
Each year about 550 independent living units are sold across 24 Metlifecare villages in the North Island.
Between June 2015 and July this year, 180 brand new units went up at Metlifecare’s Greenwich Gardens
That typically means an equivalent number of widows, widowers or couples sell up and relocate to easier living.
In a recent survey of over-45s, commissioned by Metlifecare, just over two-thirds of respondents said they would consider moving to a retirement village at some stage.
This is despite the fact that most of the respondents would prefer to stay in their current home for as long as they can.
But for Marion Booth, the move to Greenwich Gardens on Auckland’s North Shore is one she doesn’t regret.
Booth, in her 70s, never saw herself in a retirement village. But she believed her decision to move made way for a family to make new use of the nest she left.
Booth sold the two-storey home in Milford she owned with her husband for 30 years and initially opted to live in an apartment.
But the easy care and quality lifestyle of village life enticed her and she made the move 15 months ago.
Her former home had since been rented out to two families.
‘‘People are moving from family homes with land around and it frees it up for younger people with children,’’ Booth said.
‘‘When you’re older you don’t need that much land and you don’t need to maintain that. Older people grow out of wanting a big huge garden and all the maintenance.
‘‘It’s freed up for keen young people who might love doing-up.’’
Land available to develop in Auckland is scarce, and Booth said generations need to think about condensed living, whether it be apartments or retirement villages.
‘‘Whether people think they want it or not, it’s the only way to go in Auckland,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s an inevitable step in the future.’’