Senior citizens who were expected to pack into retirement residences have instead opted to stay home. This has left hundreds of luxury suites in high-end B.C. retirement homes sitting vacant.
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.'s (CMHC) annual Seniors' Housing Report - British Columbia, the average vacancy rate for independent-living suites was 12.6 per cent in 2012 compared with 11.5 per cent in 2011. The average rents are $2,672, up 3 per cent from 2011, CMHC reports.
In Metro Vancouver the typical vacancy rate for a retirement community is 13.7 per cent, compared with around 2 per cent for a typical apartment building.
Some high-end retirement communities, however, are suffering up to 80 per cent vacancies and some are being sold at deep discounts.
An example: the 135-unit Astoria luxury retirement community in Port Coquitlam boasts a private movie theatre, five-star meals, nursing care and landscaped grounds complete with a waterfall, but was nearly vacant since it was built three years ago. It had a 41 per cent vacancy rate when sold to Leisureworld Senior Care Corp. of Toronto this year.
Last year, Cedarbrooke Chateau in Mission and the Renaissance Retirement Residence in Squamish both went into receivership after suffering from a persistent 54 per cent occupancy rate.
And in Osoyoos, the Cactus Ridge Retirement Residence, which opened just last year and suffered a near 80 per cent vacancy rate, was put on the block in May for $14 million through Cushman & Wakefield. As of November, the listing had expired and a spokesman for Cactus said they "were looking at all options" in an attempt to sell, and had received no offers at the asking price of around $152,000 per door.
Based on BC Stats data, the number of people over the age of 65 has climbed 33 per cent in the last decade and is expected to double to 1.46 million by 2036. Yet seniors are apparently staying in their own homes and even buying even better homes rather than moving to retirement centres.
The proof is in the 2011 census of Canada figures, which show only 8 per cent - or just 1 in 12 - people over the age of 65 live in a retirement community. For those aged 65 to 74, 98 per cent continue to live in their own home.
According to a recent housing report released by Altus Group the "real boom" in retirement residences is still at least 20 years away.
from Western Investor January 2013
