Retirement homes are not an alien concept in India anymore. With joint families giving way to nuclear families and children moving abroad, there is a growing demand for homes for senior citizens that promise safety, security and comfort. An already established trend in Maharashtra and North India, senior citizen housing is now quickly catching on down south.

Tamil Nadu Turns Senior Housing Hotspot

With a 52% market share, Tamil Nadu has been seeing the lion’s share of demand for senior-citizen housing. Owing to its climate, proximity to hill stations and relatively quiet atmosphere, Coimbatore has always been at the top of the list. But today we are also seeing buyers opting for Chennai with the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), Grand Southern Trunk road (GST) and East Coast Road (ECR) gaining a lot of popularity.

A big reason for this is the disappearance of age-old taboos and social stigmas. Senior citizen housing is no longer restricted to drab one story structures where people dump their ageing population. Developers nowadays build specialized townships with facilities designed for senior citizens. This includes wheelchair-friendly homes come with grab-rails in the bathroom, on call 24×7 maintenance services, ambulances, emergency-evacuation procedures, hospital tie-ups and buggy services to take them around the premises. In fact, most senior citizens prefer moving to such housing which can help them live out their golden years in style.

“I think there is an increasing sense of independence amongst my generation of elders who may not want to go live with their children even if they are caring and doting and are ready to take care. I mean we want our space.” says P Vishwanathan, managing director of Serene Senior Living, a pioneer in developing senior citizen housing.

Senior Housing: A Viable Investment Option?

Major developers building senior citizen homes include Covai Properties, Ashiana Housing, Paranjape Schemes, and Tata Housing. Most such homes can cost between Rs 25 lakhs to Rs 75 lakhs, with maintenance rates that can vary between Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 depending on the facilities available. Real estate experts say these homes can make good second-home bets for senior citizens.

“Everybody has a home in the city or a prime property that they’ve built in their lifetime, they could leave that to the next generation and move to these communities and not have the hassle of maintaining a large space. So ideally at least a 5 to10 year cycle before they move in.” says Sanjay Chugh, head of residential services at JLL – Chennai.

However, there are downsides to using these facilities. For one, the scarcity of such projects means that you will be paying a premium for these houses. Two, these projects are designed exclusively for senior-citizens and you will have to be one to invest and reap its benefits. Not everyone has money to spend on these projects and so it will take a while for this market to truly grow in scale and bring costs down.

Reporter : Smitha TK, NDTV
Web Editor : Nikhil Narayan Sivadas, NDTV