Aging Subsidized Housing Residents : A Growing Problem in U.S. Cities

Many low-income elderly live in subsidized housing in central cities These aging tenants need adaptive physical structures and supportive services in order to age in place, but lack the resources to pay for them. The responses to the AHEAD Wave 2 survey are used to compare the housing conditions of elderly subsidized housing residents with unsubsidized tenants. Results indicate subsidized tenants have greater health and physical limitations. They are likely to have physically appropriate housing, but unlikely to have access to supportive services that would allow them to age in place, creating a problem policymakers must address.

Seniors Housing in a Changing Asian Society: South Korea

Traditionally, aging Koreans would live with their eldest son’s family. However, urbanization, economic expansion, and changing demographics are contributing to South Koreans considering alternative living arrangements. One possibility is the development of seniors housing, available only on a very limited basis today. This analysis indicates that a number of aging Koreans are interested in independent living, and many will soon have the economic resources to create demand for this type of housing. However, government policies would have to change for this product type to be developed successfully on a large scale.Seniors housing, Korea, consumer behavior, housing policy

Agency Risks in Outsourcing Corporate Real Estate Functions

Firms outsource business functions to focus on core competencies and cut operating expenses. However, companies must consider agency costs in determining the optimal staffing/outsourcing balance. Analysis of the views of corporate real estate managers and real estate service providers indicate that although they share a common vision of the role of corporate real estate, providers focus more on traditional real estate tasks than on corporate business strategy. The optimum balance of staffing/outsourcing may consist of a corporate real estate staff that understands the overall corporate strategy and devotes its resources to strategic planning, program development, contracting, and monitoring outsourced tasks.

The case for reverse mortgages in Australia : applying the USA experience

In the USA, reverse mortgages have been promoted as a means of accessing equity locked up in a residence, especially after the owner/s has retired. Although there have been some teething problems, the concept of mortgaging the family home after achieving freehold ownership has many merits. Often an asset-rich household must survive on relatively small regular income, and is unable to access the increasing wealth of the family home. A reverse mortgage overcomes this hurdle.The largest asset for many ageing households is their primary place of residence, the traditional house and suburban land parcel. Recently, the Australian housing market has witnessed substantial growth in the value of its capital city housing, especially on the east coast of Australia. This can be attributed to factors such as owner-occupiers trading up to a better class of dwelling, and the continuing gentrification process for owners choosing not to relocate. At the same time, demographic changes have placed pressure on the regular income of retirees, many of whom have no superannuation fund. For example, life expectancy rates continue to rise and there are an increasing proportion of single person households in society. This has placed additional pressure on financial resources of retirees, especially those with a substantial investment in their family home and a relatively small pension.This paper visits the reverse mortgage scenario in the USA and considers potential implications for the Australian market. Strengths and weaknesses of this product are contemplated, and the viability of reverse mortgages is discussed. Although there are obvious benefits for certain segments of society, reverse mortgages are a unique product and caution should be exercised to ensure the public is fully knowledgeable from the outset.<br /

Modelling the Value Adding Attributes of Real Estate to the Wealth Maximization of the Firm

Firms develop strategies to help them achieve their primary goal of maximizing the wealth of the shareholders. These strategies should define the supporting role corporate real estate management plays; however current theory and practice do not adequately identify the direct and indirect methods by which corporate real estate management (CREM) adds value to the firm. We develop a model of how real estate adds value to the firm to help fill this void. This model can be then used to develop more precise and complete metrics to measure the value real estate adds to the firm.

Time, Place, Space, Technology and Corporate Real Estate Strategy

Few corporations take a strategic approach to managing real estate. This survey finds that corporate real estate managers and service providers in Australia, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States continue to fulfill a traditional transactional role within their organizations. Real estate is not cooperating with other parts of the organization to provide their companies with flexibility that could increase competitiveness. While the use of technology is growing, real estate managers remain uncertain about its role in their future. Corporate real estate managers believe that to be effective in the future they will need strategic planning skills and business knowledge.

International retiree migration and housing markets. Evidence from Spain

Purpose – Large numbers of Northern European retirees have migrated to Southern European countries. A relevant part of this migration is not driven by work purposes but rather the desire to establish residence in a warmer country. These migrants come from different countries and exhibit diverse socioeconomic characteristics and preferences, including varying income levels, housing tastes and cultural habits, which could potentially influence the housing market in their host countries. This paper aims to examine the permanent impact of retiree migrant flows on house prices in Alicante, Spain, from 1988 to 2019, explicitly considering the impact related to the country of origin. Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines the permanent impact of retiree migrant flows on house prices in Alicante, Spain, from 1988 to 2019, explicitly considering the impact related to the country of origin using panel cointegration – Dynamic Ordinary Least Squared (DOLS) models. Findings – Results indicate that the long-term relationship captures the entire effect on house price change and that prices react immediately to the immigrants' presence with permanent effects. The results also suggest that the strong retiree migration flow created a shock in the housing market with different effects on house prices related to the immigrants' country of origin. The model identifies that when income growth in the origin country is slower than in Spain it has a major impact on house prices. When purchasing capacity is larger in Alicante than in the origin country it exerts a stronger effect on housing prices. Retiree migration flow has permanent effect on housing market prices. Practical implications – Results indicate several ways to act on social and housing policies in specific cities in Alicante province, as well as in the origin countries, to alleviate potential disadvantages faced by expatriate retirees. Originality/value – This paper finds evidence of the specific impact of international retiree migrants on the hosting housing market. This study is the first paper that can estimate the specific effect on housing prices from a flow of retiree migrants by country of origin

Examining Retirement Housing Preferences Among International Retiree Migrants

Housing demand models based on individual consumers' utility function reflect preferences about the structure and lot, neighborhood, and location as related to socioeconomic characteristics of the occupants. As a growing proportion of aging residents in many countries are undertaking late life moves, their preferences will have an influence on destination housing markets. We examine the characteristics, attitudes and preferences about retirement housing among immigrant retirees currently living in traditional housing in a retirement destination in Alicante, Spain. Using results from a survey of German and British retirees living in the region, we find through logistic regression that preference for retirement housing is associated with aging and gaining access to in-home support services.Housing preferences; Demographic trends; Seniors housing

Time-on-market in Chinese condominium presales

The condominium presale market is characterized by information asymmetry between the developer and potential buyers. A condominium developer faces conflicting incentives to sell units quickly at a lower price to generate cash and sales momentum versus to hold prices high and endure longer marketing time to maximize revenues and maintain the property’s value. We examine the pattern of marketing duration for condominium units offered for presale in a large homogeneous development in Chengdu, China using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results indicate that a patient developer may extract a price premium on units. Diminishing risk to buyers is associated with shorter marketing duration. Time-on-market is also influenced by unit and building size as well as orientation. Market conditions may moderate the speed at which units are sold