The SLS Lux hotel and residences, now under construction at Broad and Spruce streets, could become a retirement community in the sky as sophisticated retirees return to Center City Philadelphia to live.
The kids having flown the coop and the obligations of work behind them, a growing number of retirees are returning to the city to spend their leisure years.
At least that's what Realtor Carmel Archdekin has seen in her own business over the last year.
"In the past 12 months, I've seen a large influx of this type of activity," she said.
Archdekin attributes the rise in retirees moving back to Center City to two factors, one having to do with the inherent advantages of city living and the other having to do with market conditions.
The inherent advantage is access to amenities that support an active lifestyle in retirement. "Retirees want to be in the city because it's walkable," she said. "They want to ditch their cars and change their lifestyle from a suburban one to that of the city dweller," who enjoys entertainment, dining and shopping options, including shopping for everyday needs, close at hand without having to drive everywhere.
The market-driven factor is an improvement in the overall climate for sellers. "In the recent past, people couldn't sell their homes and buy retirement homes in town because they didn't have enough equity," Archdekin said. Now that home prices have rebounded past pre-market collapse levels, more retirees find they can either sell their homes quickly or borrow against their built-up equity, buy the in-town retirement pad of their dreams, and wait until they're ready to sell their old home.
In both cases, what this means is that many retirees are paying cash for their downsized dream homes. "About two-thirds of my buyers are paying cash," she said. "Either they don't have to sell their old property first or they take out a home equity line of credit on it and hold onto it until they're ready to sell."
Other buyers are choosing their future retirement homes before they're ready to move in and putting them to work in the meantime. "Another thing some buyers are doing is, even if they're not yet ready to move in, they buy and put in a renter for one to five years because prices are going up and they want to buy for value," she said. "Then, when they're ready, they move."
This is good news for Philadelphia and for developers of smaller condominium units who worry that not enough Millennials can afford their product.
Contact Carmel Archdekin with your questions about relocating to Center City.