Condominium developers are marketing to young singles with new projects that promise affordable prices, hot neighborhoods and a great social atmosphere, according to today’s Wall Street Journal. Amenities include poolside parties, hot tubs and videogame rooms, and the ad campaigns look like something out of a dating website. Just one problem: a good chunk of buyers turn out to be empty nesters over 50:

. . .it’s not so easy to control demographics in the open market. Some of the buildings are drawing unexpected buyers: people old enough to be the parents of the kids down the hall. And that’s leading to territorial conflicts, social snubs — even planned boardroom coups. Such concerns are multiplying as the new buildings fill up with a mix of residents who range broadly in age. In Denver, about half of the units in the recently completed Glass House sold to empty-nesters, despite youth-oriented amenities such as a videogame lounge and a Web site that promises “cool bars” and “a fresh vibe.” In New York, even a hot tub above the lobby and a provocative marketing campaign couldn’t keep boomers away from William Beaver House, slated to open next year.

Nothing surprising here; affluent Boomers account for a substantial percentage of urban condo buys in major markets like Chicago and New York, fueled mainly by couples moving back from the suburbs. They also dominate sales in the second home market, which is how some Boomers probably look at these units.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 7:51 am and is filed under Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.