PETALING JAYA: The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a doubling in the number of
elderly buyers of apartments in large, new high-rise projects, compared with 2019, according to Juwai IQI.
The co-founder and group CEO of Juwai IQI Kashif Ansari, said it has seen a doubling in the number of enquiries from retirees and elderly buyers about big high-rise projects.
“They used to make up only about 2% of Juwai IQI’s total enquiries in Malaysia, but their share is now about 5%,” Kashif said.
If this trend is maintained, he said, elderly-friendly projects could earn a price premium of 5% to 15% by 2025, compared to otherwise similar projects. Developers are responding by increasing the accessible features in their projects and planning amenities that can be enjoyed by all age groups.
“The big five as you get older are community, nature, physical activity, accessibility, and financial security. Today’s new projects respond on all five of these requirements. Developers are offering lifestyles not just singles and young families but also to retirees and the elderly,” Kashif said.
Home ownership rates are 68% for those in their 60s and 61% for people in their 50s. By contrast, only 43% of people in their 40s own their homes. The rate for 30-somethings is 31%, and 20-somethings have a home ownership rate of 12%.
Juwai IQI owns and operates IQI Global and Juwai.com.
