Growing demand for services in senior housing

There is a growing demand for services and amenities in retirement homes in France, delegates heard at Real Asset Media’s ‘Where’s the French Senior Living Market headed?’ investment briefing, which was held online recently.

‘People’s mentality has changed, they want to enjoy life and demand more and more services,’ said Arnaud Fety, Head of Institutional Investors Department, Aegide-Domitys, market leader in France with 120 senior residences and a large pipeline.

In the French build to rent model a 25 m2 studio in a residence in a medium-size city will cost around €1,000 per month, which includes charges like wi-fi, security and a concierge service 24 hours a day.

Prices vary depending on location. The lowest rent for a long-term stay in a studio flat in a private commercial service residence is to be found in Nimes (€671 a month) and the highest, unsurprisingly, in Paris (€1,929), according to Bonard research.

Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

‘It is important for us to be affordable, so at Domitys we also include 50 activities a month for free in the basic package, such as trips to museums, access to the cinema room, outings or aquagym classes in the pool’, said Fety. ‘Then there’s a wide range of additional services and amenities that you have to pay for, as you would in a hotel. It is customised and up to the individual’.

There are packages at different price points, or services on demand. Residents can choose to pay extra for things like meals in the restaurant, having cleaning or ironing done or other services like hairdressing.

The list grows by the day, said Fety: ‘There is huge demand for à la carte services. For example, we now provide electric rented cars and they have been a huge success’.

Many people only think of nursing homes and are not aware of the alternatives, he said: ‘We need to explain to this huge population that senior living can offer them a good quality of life for 20 years. It is a great solution’.

At the moment there is not much differentiation in terms of pricing despite the huge variations in quality of accommodation and services as well as location and target population. This is one of the reasons that Bonard and Mozaic decided to do the first in-depth factual research into the French senior housing market.

‘We are trying to bring transparency and granularity, which will enable proper comparisons between assets,’ said Frédéric Dib, President, Mozaic Asset Management. ‘This in turn will lead to more pricing differences among products depending on location, quality and services offered’.

Missed the Real Asset Media webinar on French senior living? Watch, listen or download the entire discussion below:

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