Newly constructed condos in high demand among retirees

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Cheryl and Bill Massie adored acreage life just outside Calgary. Yet like so many greying couples whose children have grown up and had kids of their own, they found their home became too much home.

“We just needed to simplify our lives a little bit and get rid of a bit of that work keeping it up,” says Cheryl Massie. “And we wanted to be in the city, closer to our family, and not have to drive everywhere.”

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The couple, now in their 70s, looked at the resale market around Calgary’s deep south, but they could not find what they wanted, which was a home offering a lock-and-leave lifestyle with plenty of community amenities.

They also had a particular want in the home they were seeking: no stairs.

“We were considering accessibility as we age,” says Bill Massie, who is semi-retired.

No housing type on the resale market offered that combination. Some might have had a few of the characteristics they sought, but these often involved significant renovations.

The couple wanted a turnkey solution.

Luxury buyers, the couple faced an uphill battle in finding inventory on the resale market that suited them. Calgary Real Estate Board statistics from September reveal a very sleepy segment. Only two luxury condominium apartment sales took place over $1 million with an additional three sales between $800,000 and $1 million.

That lack of choice led them to look to new developments, and they quickly found a home that fit their description at The Streams of Lake Mahogany in the far southeast of Calgary.

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On a lakefront, it is a main-floor apartment with a private attached garage in a six-unit apartment complex.

Calgary sales manager Jordan D’Haese at Jayman Built, the builder behind the development, says the project was designed with empty-nesters in mind.

“A lot of our purchasers are coming from the downsizer market in the city or acreages around the city, and now their kids are having grandkids inside the city, and they want to move a little bit closer,” he says.

Jayman had started with 80 villa bungalows, which sold out quickly, D’Haese says, adding their pricing started at just under $900,000.

The lakefront apartment-style units start a slightly less than $1.1 million and up to $2.5 million.

“They’re selling pretty well,” he says, noting buyers are well-established coming to the deals with plenty of equity. Many have been through the process of building custom homes before.

“So they’re like, ‘I don’t want to buy this off of paper.’ ”

Pre-selling is rare with most buyers seeking a move-in-ready solution.

Jayman isn’t the only developer active in multi-family today in Calgary. Year to date, ending Aug. 31, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. statistics on new homes show apartment starts were up nearly 44 per cent year over year. For August, completions were up 89 per cent.

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Not all activity is in the luxury market, but D’Haese notes developers see increasingly fertile ground catering to down-sizing near-retirees and retirees.

“With this group, it’s not even that they want significantly less space,” he says, noting the apartments start at 1,705 square feet and go up to a little more than 2,000 sq. ft.

As well, the homes are part of a larger, designed community with walking paths and amenities such as groceries and a medical clinic just two or three blocks away.

For the Massies, those additional conveniences clinched the deal.

“There are some really lovely amenities close by that, at this point in our lives, we really appreciate,” Cheryl says.

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