Demand for old homes picking up in Chennai

Chennai: The construction of senior citizen-friendly homes is increasing in the city and is becoming a viable market for realty promoters. Realty experts say the market size of senior citizens apartments will be around Rs 4000 crore in another four to five years. As per real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle, India had around 100 million senior citizens (aged 60 and above) in 2012. This number is expected to double by 2030.

According to the market experts, the trend is catching up in Tamil Nadu and most number of organised seniors living projects are coming up in Chennai and cities like Coimbatore. South India constitutes 52 per cent of the total market supply for senior citizens’ projects.

Almost all reputed builders are focusing on this segment and are offering customised facilities. “In our retire apartments, we offer six types of senior based services — like essential, emergency, basic, comfort, lifestyle and advisory- that enables hassle-free lifestyle in silver years”, said Ashwin Kumar Iyer, CEO — Vedaanta Senior Living.

“Special care has been taken in designing the project for senior citizens and each house is equipped with tablet-enabled services and an alarm system in case of emergency,” he said. Real estate player Akshaya also will launch golden age home apartment projects at Thoraipakkam and Porur in Chennai soon. The company has earmarked 10 per cent of apartments in their projects for senior citizens.

That said, pricing is on the higher side for  senior citizens homes. “Because of the integrated amenities they offer, senior citizen homes tend to be 10-15 per cent more expensive than a normal residential project,” said Kanchana Krishnan,  Director-Chennai, Knight Frank

She added that the concept is growing in Chennai and the demand is picking up. Rather than focusing an entire project for senior citizens, builders in the city are allocating a block with special amenities for senior citizens

With regard to seniors facing problems after moving into the  communities, since there is no government regulations, the buyers themselves have to do their full research about the terms and conditions before signing up these contracts, said Krishnan. “The buyers should get an advocate and due diligence is required before they commit themselves to such projects,” she added.