High rise apartments deter over-55s, claims Melbourne professor

Professor Wendy Stone, Swinburne Professor of Housing and Social Policy and leader of the institute’s Housing Futures Research Centre for Urban Transitions, said over-55 Melburnians do not want to live in retirement villages or multi-storey independent living units. With Melbourne being the capital of Build to Rent towers and Australian Unity’s 19-level The Grace Albert Park and 15-level The Alba, it seems her research might not be spot on. Prof Stone said recent research showed the Over 55s typically wanted multiple bedrooms, detached homes in good locations – and for some this was because they believed their adult children could return to live with them in the future. They also wanted the freedom to be able to have pets and room to indulge in their hobbies (the majority of retirement villages have such facilities). She claimed many over-55s would rather live in a caravan than in a crowded high-rise apartment building or retirement village-style housing, because they want their freedom (independence is a word only second behind “security” used by retirement living salespeople). Prof Stone added while most over-55s are seeking to reduce their financial burden and home and garden size, most don’t want to be hemmed in.

Research by an over-55s housing action group that Prof Stone was involved in showed there was a shortage of the sort of medium-sized houses “in well located areas” potential rightsizers were seeking, she said.