Our DCM Prospect Profile research document, commissioned by DCM and conducted by leading research company AOR, has delivered many headlines.
But perhaps the most striking one is illustrated by the light blue line in the graph above.
Just 3% of people aged 65 to 74 can be considered genuine potential retirement village residents.
This works out to be only 74,100 people in Australia.
Consider too that all these people are on different journeys.
Some are ready to sign the dotted line, others are at the start of a process that might eventually take 15 years before a final decision is made.
Why is this number so low?
We suspect there’s a perception problem, and some of the very real benefits of retirement villages haven’t been communicated well to potential residents.
Look at the table below, taken from the same research document.
AOR compared the perceptions of non-residents to people who had just moved in to a village – and the difference couldn’t be starker.
More often than not, many of the Potentials had been to a village many years ago and had a dim memory, or simply had a rough opinion that has over time become a firm opinion.
AOR found visiting one or more villages turned most people around – the hard part is getting them to the village.
Villages have an important role to play
But change is in the wind, partly due to COVID.
AOR tells us: “An additional 10% of the 60+ population is now concerned about their future needs, be they health, emotional or financial. More specifically, 20% are concerned about the suitability of their home.”
A retirement village is the perfect solution to this problem.
But at the moment at least, it seems like people just don’t realise.
The village sector delivers and exceptional service to ageing Australians.
It’s high time we spread the word.
