Demographic change is fundamentally changing the demands on the German housing market. However, living in old age is not a uniform market: While the majority of senior citizens continue to live in their previous living environment, the need for barrier-free, service-oriented and care-oriented forms of living grows with increasing age. In the webinar "MACRO MATTERS – The KINGSTONE Real Estate View", Maximilian Radert, Head of Product Development & Research at KINGSTONE Real Estate, Prof. Dr. Günter Vornholz, founder of ImmobilienResearch, and Jean Klijnen, Managing Director at KINGSTONE Real Estate Benelux (KREBLX), discussed the question of how demand, supply and investability are developing in the segment of living in old age.
Living in old age is predominantly not a special form of housing
The market for senior living is often discussed about special forms of housing – such as serviced living, assisted living, senior citizens' residences, multi-generational concepts or nursing homes. In fact, the vast majority of older people continue to live in their previous home. "I would not have thought that 95 percent of people would continue to be in their normal homes and that these special forms would only make up a small part," said Prof. Dr. Günter Vornholz.
This so-called remanence effect characterizes the German and Dutch markets: Older people want to maintain their familiar living environment, neighborhoods and routines for as long as possible. In addition, a move is often associated with considerable costs. Anyone who switches from a long-term lease or from a paid-off property to a new service or assisted living offer is often confronted with significantly higher new contract rents and additional service fees.
