SeniorAbode.com

Singles-only complexes, complete with videogame lounges, outdoor fire pits, rooftop soaking tubs and on-site bars, are drawing unexpected buyers — people old enough to be the parents of the target audience.

Builders have targeted singles developments primarily to “echo boomers” — people born after 1978 because they are twice as likely as people ages 46 to 64 to house-hunt in the next two years, according to a study by the National Association of Home Builders.

But even provocative marketing campaigns don’t keep baby boomers away from well-outfitted singles developments, builders complain. They say too many oldsters can kill sales in a development.

“I guess I have this mindset that I’m a youthful-looking 50-year-old,” says Gayle Strong, a 53-year-old attorney who recently moved into a two-bedroom condo in Denver’s Glass House, a community that promotes its youth-oriented amenities like a videogame lounge, “cool bars,” and “a fresh vibe.” As for the demographics in her building, “some of them are a lot closer in age to my kids,” she says.

But no matter who’s buying, condos targeting singles are selling. Atlanta’s Novare Group says it has sold more than 4,000 units throughout the Sunbelt since 2002, most of them for less than $275,000, and all of the buildings have sold out within a year of opening. A 417-unit complex developed by Bristol Development Group in Nashville, sold out in two weeks. And Lifestyle Communities in Columbus, Ohio, says it sold nearly 500 condos last year, even as area sales slowed overall.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Ben Casselman (05/11/07)

Filed under: Trends on May 14th, 2007