Senior 55+ Housing Market Remains Strong in U.S.

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According to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI), U.S. builder confidence in the single-family 55+ housing market remains strong in the third quarter of 2015 with a reading of 60, up three points from the previous quarter.
 
This is the sixth consecutive quarter with a reading above 50, and serve as evidence to why massive master-planned 55+ residential communities like The Villages in Central Florida continue to grow and thrive.

"Builders have a positive outlook on the 55+ housing market," said Timothy McCarthy, chairman of NAHB's 55+ Housing Industry Council and managing partner of Traditions of America in Radnor, Pa. "In fact, the markets for single-family, apartments and condos are all doing quite well, and we expect that trend to continue."

There are separate 55+ HMIs for two segments of the 55+ housing market: single-family homes and multifamily condominiums. Each 55+ HMI measures builder sentiment based on a survey that asks if current sales, prospective buyer traffic and anticipated six-month sales for that market are good, fair or poor (high, average or low for traffic). An index number above 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.

All three components of the 55+ single-family HMI posted increases from the previous quarter: present sales increased three points to 65, expected sales for the next six months rose one point to 67 and traffic of prospective buyers increased three points to 46.

The 55+ multifamily condo HMI rose seven points to 50, which is the highest reading since the inception of the index in 2008. Two of the three components showed increases as well: present sales jumped 10 points to 54 and expected sales for the next six months rose seven points to 56 while traffic of prospective buyers edged down one point to 40.

All four indices tracking production and demand of 55+ multifamily rentals posted gains in the third quarter. Present production rose nine points to 55, expected future production and current demand for existing units jumped 11 points to 60 and 70, respectively, and future demand increased five points to 68.

"Like the overall housing market, we continue to see steady, positive growth in the 55+ market," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "With the economy and job growth continuing to improve gradually, many consumers are now able to sell their current homes at a suitable price, enabling them to buy or rent in a 55+ community."