Dive Brief:
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Texas developer Caldwell Companies is to launch a homebuilding division that will cater to the higher-end of the active-adult segment of the market, according to the Community Impact Newspaper.
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Caldwell Homes will roll out in an age-targeted section of the Towne Lake master-planned community northwest of Houston. The company’s plans will offer energy-efficient design and home automation features that can be controlled remotely.
- The new division's president, Jim Rorison, previously worked with PulteGroup and its Del Webb active-adult homes brand. So far, Caldwell’s footprints span 1,900 square feet to 4,500 square feet on 55- and 65-foot lots with patios and waterfront access.
Dive Insight:
Caldwell is one of the latest builders to target the active-adult segment of the housing market amid forecasts of growth in the coming years. Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Holdings, for example, recently teamed up with Canadian developer Minto Communities on a line of planned, mixed-use communities targeting that market, with the first one slated for Daytona Beach, FL.
Island escapism or no, homebuilders are seeing an uptick in interest in the active-adult category as the baby boomer generation ages. The head of one in three U.S. households will be over the age of 65 by 2035, according to a report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.
In separate analyst calls discussing their fourth-quarter earnings, Atlanta-based PulteGroup and Fort Worth, TX-based D.R. Horton called out the active-adult market as warranting investment going forward.
The National Association of Home Builders 55+ Housing Market Index climbed eight points from the third quarter of 2016 to a mark of 67 in the fourth quarter, with sales gains for the period in the single-family category, indicating optimism for future activity in the sector.
In January, an NAHB report highlighted key features of these homes, including single-level plans with smaller footprints, energy-efficient features and walkability to nearby amenities. Buyers in the 55+ segment typically own their homes outright sooner than do younger buyers and they most often downsize within their own community.
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