PULTE HOMES INTRODUCES DEL WEBB BRAND INTO MASSACHUSETTS AND NEW JERSEY
Pulte Homes has introduced the Del Webb brand into the Northeast market with the two newest Del Webb communities located in Massachusetts and New Jersey. The communities are planned to meet the needs of 16.2 million baby boomers in the Northeast. "The two newest offerings target the 55+ buyers who want a smaller, more intimate community while experiencing the active adult lifestyle that is synonymous with the Webb name," said Anne Mariucci, president of Del Webb.
The new communities, Great Island by Del Webb in Plymouth, Mass. and Somerset Run by Del Webb in Franklin Township, N.J. represent Del Webb's first entries into the Boston, New York and New Jersey markets. Expansion of Del Webb into new markets is a key component of Pulte Homes' growth strategy following its 2001 merger with Del Webb, according to Mariucci.
She said, "Our market studies show tremendous pent-up demand for communities of this type throughout the country, including the Northeast where we have more than 75,000 names in our lead bank with stated interest for the area." Mariucci, who said there is a trend for people to stay in the same area, cited U.S. Census Bureau figures which show that almost one half of the 1.6 million individuals, ages 55-64, who moved between March 1999 and 2000, relocated within the same county and 70 percent relocated within the same state.
HIGH TECHNOLOGY IN HOUSES: HONEYWELL INDEPENDENT LIFE STYLE ASSISTANT BEING TESTED
High technology is fast approaching the seniors' housing market as Honeywell begins field trials with its Independent Life Style Assistant (ILSA). The trials will continue for the next six to nine months, says program manager Rose Mae Richardson. Then, she said, a decision will be made about the future of the program.
The company has been working on ILSA for three years. The objective is to develop a home automation system with situation awareness and decision-making capabilities that can be easily integrated with sensors, medical devices and "smart" appliances to enable elderly and infirm users to live and function safely at home, the Orlando Sentinel daily newspaper reported. The sensors will remind the homeowner when it is time to take a pill, eat dinner, close the refrigerator door and turn off the stove.
Honeywell said it plans to put the system in single-family homes and independent-living facilities to test their acceptance and productivity. The system will be installed in a retirement community in Minneapolis, Honeywell's home base. In addition, 10 homes in Gainesville, Florida will be equipped with the high-tech devices.
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U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS PLEDGES TO FIGHT FOR AFFORDABLE SENIORS HOUSING
The U.S. Conference of Mayors adjourned its annual meeting recently, pledging to fight for "housing that working people, seniors and needy Americans can afford," the United Press International news service reported.
"Our meeting is adjourned, but our work goes on," conference President Thomas M. Menino of Boston said at the meeting in Madison, Wisconsin where 250 of the nation's mayors gathered. Menino said he would form a grassroots campaign to lobby Congress and the public on housing issues.
"Affordable housing is at the heart of any discussion of how we create livable cities, and it is going to be among my highest priorities…" Mayor Susan J.M. Bauman of Madison said.
DEMAND FOR SECOND HOMES SOARS AS BABY BOOMERS SEEK PLACE TO GET AWAY
By rights, a triple whammy of recession, terrorism and wimpy stock performance should have knocked the stuffing out of the market for second homes by now, USA Today newspaper reported. But reporter Thomas A. Fogarty said, it hasn't happened. Demand is soaring for beach condos, lake homes and mountain cabins as American homeowners-mainly baby boomers-seek a place to get away and to provide rental income.
The newspaper quoted Martin Edwards Jr., president of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), who called the market for second homes "extremely hot." And Edwards expects it to stay that way. NAR estimated 359,000 residences were bought last year as second homes. That's 5 percent fewer than 1999, but still the second highest volume since NAR began studying the market sector in 1989.
IN FIVE YEARS NEARLY 70 COLLEGES OPENED RETIREMENT FACILITIES, LASELL REQUIRES COURSES
Lasell College in Newton, Massachusetts is one of the toughest in a group of educational institutions, which have opened retirement facilities for faculty and alumni, according to MSNBC.com web news service. Before moving in, each villager must agree in writing to complete a full course load every year (some fitness classes and independent studies count) until a doctor certifies that he's no longer able to.
Peg Tyre of Newsweek magazine reported that in the last five years, nearly 70 colleges and universities-including the University of Virginia, Ithaca College and Oberlin-have opened retirement facilities for faculty and alumni. About 25 more have plans in the works, she said.
Spurred by medical research suggesting that mental fitness may ward off dementia, well-heeled retirees want less time on the fairways and more time in the collegiate hallways, according to the magazine report. The Institutes for Learning in Retirement, which sets up classes for the elderly, is getting 10 phone calls a week from colleges trying to meet the needs of mature learners.
NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL SUPPORTS ELDER FALL PREVENTION ACT OF 2002
Bobby Jackson, vice president for National Programs of the National Safety Council (NSC), testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Subcommittee on Aging in support of the Elder Fall Prevention Act of 2002.
The Elder Fall Prevention Act, sponsored by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) with Senator Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.), if passed, will direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand and intensify programs with respect to research and related activities concerning elder falls. Provisions include a comprehensive national education campaign, demonstration projects; research programs; and a review of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement policies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that more than 10,000 seniors died in 1999 from fall-related injuries. Jackson testified that 25 percent of those who fracture a hip in a fall-among the most common injuries-die within a year, and 75 percent will never regain the quality of life they had before the fall.
AARP PAPER PRESENTS ROLE OF HOME MODIFICATION IN REDUCING COST OF FALL INJURIES
One approach to reducing falls is modifying homes in order to eliminate or abate common hazards for frail persons. In an AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Brief, Andrew Kochera uses sensitivity analysis (an exercise which explores how conclusions change when the initial assumptions are allowed to vary) to explore financial challenges that home modification programs designed to prevent falls would need to address.
The purpose of the paper, which reviews the literature on the effectiveness of such programs, is to provide guidance for future research on costs and benefits, and to illustrate the role of home modification in efforts to reduce the cost of fall injuries. The paper indicates that future research should include detailed information on residents and home features, with a large sample size to adequately test the significance of various factors.
ILLINOIS CONDO BUILDER PAYS $100,000 TO SETTLE LAWSUIT ABOUT ACCESSIBLE HOUSING
The U.S. Department of Justice said the developers of Hunt Club Condominiums, an 86-unit, two building development in St. Charles, Illinois, have agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit charging them with failing to construct accessible housing, as required by the federal Fair Housing Act.
As part of the agreement, which must still be approved by the court, the developers will modify certain common areas of the complex to make it more accessible to persons with disabilities and will pay $95,000 into a fund, which will be used to pay for accessibility modifications by individual owners. The developers will also pay a $5000 civil penalty and take steps to ensure that future construction by them complies with the Fair Housing Act.
"As the number of our elderly citizens increases, the need for housing built with the accessibility features required by the Fair Housing Act becomes more pronounced. Builders, architects and engineers must understand that failing to make apartments and condominiums accessible discriminates against person with disabilities and violates the law," said Ralph F. Boyd, Jr., assistant attorney general for civil rights. "It is far easier and less costly to build housing right from the start than to go back and fix it later."
