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What do 1,000 Baby Boomers, more than a dozen industry leaders, architectural giants Perkins +Will, and yours truly have in common?
We’ve all been thinking and talking about Baby Boomers moving to Multi-Family Homes (MFH), and the collective output of all those brains will be presented at the UDI Pacific breakfast in Vancouver on Feb. 3.
Here’s the story.
The Stackable Boomer, my most recent book, looks at the largest migration facing our industry in the coming years: millions of Baby Boomers will be selling the house in the suburbs and looking for a higher-density lifestyle in MFH buildings across the country.
But there’s a gaping hole in the market.
There will be a huge demand for MFH from middle-class Boomers: the ones who aren’t all that happy about having to sell the house in the suburbs in the first place. But we aren’t building very much for them right now.
You see, as an industry we’re already successfully building and selling homes to the wealthy Boomers who want a concierge and a wine-cellar and a built-in espresso machine in every room.
But what about the Boomers who can’t afford all that?
They don’t want to live in buildings designed for first-time homebuyers: they are scared of trying to sleep just down the hall from a part-time DJ who likes to have keg parties on the weekend.
I’m generalizing, of course, but there is a lack of choice in the market for the Boomers who can’t afford the high-end product, and aren’t enthused about the entry-level product either.
So we set out to find what they want
The Stackable Boomer presents the results from a 1,000-Boomer survey that asked questions about the issues middle-class Boomers are grappling with. They responded with information about their biggest fears and dreams, their favourite rooms, what they are shopping for, and how we can make them happy.
We also polled more than a dozen industry experts: from CEOs of major development companies and internationally recognized urban planners, to famous authors and Harvard professors. We asked them all what they thought about building better homes and communities for Boomers, and they shared some very insightful advice.
And since talking to both the Boomers and the experts yielded more questions than answers, I recently went to my very smart architect friends at Perkins +Will, and asked them for some big ideas that could help. They came up with some amazing stuff.
And what’s the answer?
The answer is . . . you’ll have to come to the UDI Pacific Region breakfast to find out. I’ll be speaking about this subject for an hour or so, and I promise it will be an hour jam-packed with information that you can take back to your companies, and use to make your own careers even more stellar in the Boomer-centric market for MFH.
Want to join me and enjoy Boomer Brains for Breakfast?
Full information and tickets here.
Want to win a pair of free tickets?
Post this link on Twitter and LinkedIn, and use the hashtag #BoomerBrainsforBreakfast
Everyone who does will be entered to win: I’ll be watching closely, and thank you in advance for your help!
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