Kerrie Gilbert and Betsy Sheppard attended the 2012 Lifelong Communities Summit: Transforming the Way We Live Together. As marketing specialists for the senior housing industry, they also participated in a Pre-Summit Meeting held at The Commerce Club in downtown Atlanta on October 3. At the Pre-Summit, a select group of attendees shared information about programs and initiatives related to Lifelong Communities and provided input for the national conversations about creating communities people want to grow up in and grow old in. A reception was held afterwards at the offices of Atlanta Magazine.
On October 4, the main conference took place at the Atlanta Regional Commission’s office at the Loudermilk Center for Regional Community. Over 200 attendees were present as they enjoyed presentations and open discussion about Lifelong Communities Programs. If you are interested in learning more about this program, please click on www.atlantaregional.com/aging-resources.
Members of Gilbert & Sheppard Group will be speaking at the 2012 50+ University Day in October. The annual event is hosted by the Atlanta 50+ Housing Council and offers Continuing Education for builders, remodelers and real estate professionals. Our team will present case studies and proven practices for successful real estate marketing – specifically for the 50+ buyer. We will show how effective uses of traditional and non-traditional marketing can attract qualified leads and influence sales. For more details about the event visit 50plusuniversity.com
Betsy recently participated as a judge for the 2012 Mature Market Media Awards. This organization is a 21-year-old national clearinghouse for professionals who work with older adults. You can learn more about the winners once they are announced at www.seniorawards.com
According to a new article in Senior Housing News, “a majority of baby boomers ‘prefer to improve their dynamic lifestyle’ in retirement by moving to an active adult community.”
This is great news for many of Gilbert & Sheppard Group’s clients such as Jim Chapman Communities, Park Springs, The Landings at Night Harbor and Olde Town Grayson.
The Senior Housing News article titled Analyst Report: Active Adult Communities A Favorite Choice of Baby Boomers, claims that younger seniors are choosing communities for their lifestyle options. Active adult communities offer people 55 and over a way of life that encompasses all of the entertainment and space needed for retirement. Most of the communities offer plenty of social options as well as ample room for guests and for new hobbies.
According to the article, independent and assisted living communities, as well as CCRCs, are “expected to witness stabilized growth in the coming years.” This is great news for anyone in the active adult market.
For more information on Gilbert & Sheppard Group and our clients, visit GilbertSheppard.com.
Gilbert & Sheppard Group is excited that TopRetirements.com recently released their annual List of 100 Best Places to Retire. This year, the Sunbelt remains in the top of boomers’ favorite regions to retire to. Florida dominates the list with 26 spots, followed by North Carolina with 11 spots and South Carolina and Arizona with 7 spots each.
Asheville, North Carolina took the top spot for the sixth year in a row and Sarasota, Florida was named number two again. The top 10 cities remained the same this year just jockeying positions within the grouping. Charleston, South Carolina made a large jump in popularity this year moving from 65th to 24th position.
The TopRetirements.com list has been published yearly since 2007 based on their exclusive criteria from their website. Featuring over 815 cities, they track the online visits to each city over the last 6 months of the year to determine popularity. To see all of the cities featured on this year’s Best Places to Retire list, click here . For more information on Gilbert & Sheppard Group, visit our website GilbertSheppard.com
A recent article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that the top-selling communities in the Atlanta are located away from the heart of the city. In the outskirts of the metro area, older buyers are enjoying the Georgia countryside with the conveniences of proximity to the city.
Now that active adult communities are offering more all-inclusive lifestyles, older buyers are not in need of the closeness to a town center. Organized activities for retirees within the communities as well as group outings and trips make the convenience of the city unnecessary.
In the article, Robert Tutterow, professor of economics at Mercer University stated: “This is probably a segment of the market that is not fixated on trying to time the absolute bottom of (home) prices. They’re looking for a lifestyle choice.”
Also according to the article, the active adult sector is “a great emerging market that we’re going to see and hear more about as the years progress.” The baby boomer generation is getting closer to retirement and will add a significant number of retirement buyers to the housing market.
Charlotte Sears, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Atlanta said, “Atlanta is going to be more and more attractive for retirees. The families that moved to the city in the housing boom have grown up, and now that the oldest members are ready to retire, they’re less likely to leave the state.” She also noted, “the metro area has good weather, quiet mountain areas, relative proximity to beaches and plenty of activities geared to older populations.”
As marketers for active adult and retirement communities we look forward to a strong active adult market in and around the Atlanta area!
Betsy is proud to serve as an Editorial Judge for the 2011 National Mature Media Awards. The awards are organized by the Mature Market Resource Center headquartered in Libertyville, IL. The National Mature Media Awards is the nation’s largest awards program that annually recognizes the best marketing, communications, educational materials and programs for adults age 50 and older. For more information on these awards, please visit www.seniorawards.com
Betsy had the privilage of speaking at the recent conference on Enviroments on Aging. Betsy teamed up with Mary Jo Peterson of www.mjpdesign.com to present a class on Universal Design, Creating Homes & Communities for a Lifetime.
Betsy presented a program announcing the newly formed “ALL Certified Program – A Liveable Lifestyle Home.” The program is designed for Georgia builders and remodelers who are interested in designing and building homes with specific features focused on easy accessbility entering and throughout the home. Watch for details on the new program. The website and overall branding will be launched soon.
Betsy is pleased to serve on the 2011 Board of Directors for the Atlanta 50+ Housing Council. The council is dedicated to offering continuing education and the interchange of ideas that relate to the housing capabilities for 50+ homebuilders and buyers. Check out the Council’s Blog forum at 50+University.com
Betsy Sheppard has been selected as a judge for the 2010 Web Health Awards, www.webhealthawards.com. The awards are given by by the Health Information Resource Center headquartered in Libertyville,IL. Now in its 12th year, the goal of the Web Health Awards[sm] (formerly the World Wide Web Health Awards), is to recognize high-quality electronic health information. The awards program is organized by the Health Information Resource Center[sm] (HIRC), a national clearinghouse for professionals who work in consumer health fields. For more information, please visit www.webhealthawards.com.
