- Title
- Characteristics and key-success factors of future sought-after retirement villages in George, South Africa
- Creator
- Earle, Isak Sameul
- Subject
- Retirement communities -- South Africa -- George
- Subject
- Retirees -- Housing -- South Africa -- George Retirement -- South Africa -- George -- Planning Retirees -- South Africa -- George -- Economic conditions
- Date Issued
- 2018
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MBA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/22038
- Identifier
- vital:29815
- Description
- This study is about obtaining information about international and national trends and features of sought-after retirement villages by means of a literature review (secondary research) as well as by means of a survey amongst estate agents and retirees currently residing in George (primary research). The primary research objective was to develop a Retirement Village Features Model (a set of features, development guidelines, conditions and requirements) for a sought-after retirement village in George, derived from scientific knowledge, resultant from findings and conclusions from primary and secondary research conducted by the researcher. The literature review revealed that worldwide, the population continues to get older and that the number of retirees requiring retirement homes is growing and supply is not keeping pace with the ever-growing demand. It also revealed 16 characteristics of retirement villages that were used as a basis for designing the questionnaire namely the expectation and the importance of: living amongst peers for social interaction, safety and security facilities, an easy-care lifestyle, economic investment security, recreational leisure facilities, beautiful designed buildings and homes, location, privacy, effective management of the development, well nurtured gardens, paved pedestrian walkways, wheelchair friendly designs, low maintenance housing designs, offering facilities for successful ageing, green energy design houses and facilities and the importance of not selling to potential buyers under the age of 50. Although the expectation of each of the 16 characteristics of a sought-after retirement village was high for most participants, the level of importance of each characteristic varied quite a lot. This might be a good indication that participants would like to have all the characteristics present in the development but are sceptical about costs that might be incurred to the homeowner having those characteristics present in the village. The participants in the study also indicated various desired characteristics of a future sought after retirement village that forms part of the Model which conforms to literature findings. These include: emergency assistance button in houses and emergency response services, a clubhouse with catering and braai facilities, WI-FI services in all areas, a pet-friendly environment with park for domestic animals and access to Frail Care and Assisted Living facilities. Participants in the survey also indicated their preference for housing in future sought-after retirement villages namely; 52.17% preferred a two bedroom privately owned home, 33.04% preferred a three bedroom privately owned house, 7.83% preferred renting a one or two-bedroom house and 6.96% prefer a one bedroom privately owned house. 71.31% of participants who responded regarded assisted living services and frail care services and facilities as very important or of utmost importance. This paper was aimed at capturing the essence of how retirees feel about their homes and lifestyle environments. By incorporating the findings and recommendations contained in this study into their development plans for future retirement villages, development companies will have a competitive advantage over their rivals in this industry. It is recommended that future research regarding retirement villages should include other regions in South Africa to improve the model. It is also recommended that further research can be done on how expected facilities in retirement villages can become self- sufficient and subsequently alleviating the maintenance costs for homeowners and hence rendering more value to the homeowner.
- Format
- xvii, 143 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economics Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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