First Seniors 20 Club Explores Issues of Growing 50+ Market
Land costs, universal design, and marketing techniques for the 50+ housing market topped the agenda at the first 50+ Seniors Housing 20 Club meeting at the National Housing Center, Feb.17-18. Fourteen builders from non-competing markets gathered to share their knowledge and experiences. “Regardless of how big you are, your company is only as good as the brain trust of your internal staff,” said Chuck Covell, president of Bozzuto Homes in Greenbelt, Md. “With the collaborative process of the 50+ Seniors Housing 20 Club, you can increase your knowledge base, understand how your peers operate and take that information back to your own company to implement new ideas and best practices.” The 20 Clubs program was started 10 years ago to give builders face time with an untapped resource of the association ― other builders. The clubs are limited to 20 members each, with the members coming from non-competing markets across the country. Members of the seniors 20 club include small-, medium- and large-volume builders who specialize in active-adult, multigenerational, single-family detached and age-qualified rental homes. They will meet several times a year to discuss the issues surrounding the seniors housing market, tap into the expertise of NAHB’s Seniors Housing Council staff and share ways to grow their businesses. “The 50+ Seniors Housing 20 Club helps make your business more successful and helps you provide your customers with a unique product,” said Charlie Derik, senior design and development engineer for Lutron, a lighting control company based in Coopersburg, Pa., and a sponsor of the NAHB 20 Clubs program. The formation of the 50+ Seniors Housing 20 Club is especially timely to its members, who currently are grappling with the issues of accommodating the varying needs of baby boomers as they begin to move into age-qualified housing. Active-adult housing currently represents one of the fastest-growing segments of the industry, and the over-50 market is estimated to hit 100 million by the year 2010. There are now 48 clubs operating, with each focusing on a particular segment of the home building industry, such as custom home building, production building, small volume building, land development, seniors housing, urban infill, marketing, remodeling and more. For more information on the 20 Clubs program, visit www.nahb.org/20clubs. | 
