Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 21st, 2013

Increasingly I am finding older buyers entering the Manhattan luxury market. They are not necessarily ‘old’ but they are a lot older than the developers, buildings, apartments and brokers catering to buyers. Every time a developer asks me about what demographics to expect for a building their first assumption is that it will be young families or couples thinking of starting a family. This is certainly true for the most part, but I see very many wealthier 50+ year old buyers on a daily basis buying in Manhattan. Florida may be appealing for a few months of the year, and a home in California and/or the Hampton’s is a possibility…..but the lure of the big city keeps growing as 70 becomes the new 55.  Many are moving back from the suburbs as their large homes have become silent with the departure of grown kids. Many seek the excitement and convenience of a big city environment. Most do not consider retirement an option. Most of them have lots of cash and are excited to spend this money before time runs out on them. Older buyers do not see luxury the same way younger ones do: they are less focused on the more obvious luxuries and seek intrinsic ones, the ones that really matter to the quality of their lives.

We just did a sale for someone buying in their 80’s…and going very strong! There is a fact many don’t talk about: wealthy people live 4.5 years longer than the middle class or the poor. Men aged 65 living in the wealthiest areas live on average for another 19.6 years! The wealthy stay healthy 15 years longer than the poor. I imagine this factor will continue to expand as longevity becomes a hot topic  amongst the older wealthy. Healthcare in Manhattan is outstanding, and if you have a heart attack at the corner of 23rd Street and 10th Avenue, chances are you will be in the hands of the best medical professionals within minutes.

As I travel through many apartments I see so many areas that simply do not cater to older people:

• Lettering on tech/thermostats that is so small, a microscope would be needed to read it.
• A Wolf hood where the on/off buttons are completely concealed because everything is black and sleek and glass…..and impossible to see.
• Showers without benches, or towel bars so far removed only a giraffe good reach them with its neck length. Bathtubs so high only a Kardashian could get their legs up high enough to get in.
• Awkward obstructions on floors, like frames of doors when walking onto a terrace. Not that these older buyers are fragile……but who wants a fall anytime, least of all when you are older and your bones become more brittle?
• Lighting that is complex to control or inadequate.
• Communications to the front desk that are complex and not “Apple-easy”.
• All New Yorkers, especially older ones, dream of anything that makes their lives simpler so they can focus on what they love doing: too many buildings do not address this.
• I think older people in general appreciate charm more than the younger set: buildings that look and feel like office towers in a suburb of Chicago will not appeal to a large chunk of these buyers. Often those interiors make for beautiful magazine editorials to appeal to nouveau riche bankers. Buildings with the charm of a townhouse, but without all the stairs, are sorely needed.

As New York becomes safer and even more desirable for an older demographic, the challenges of designing and building homes that truly cater to their needs becomes increasingly important.