DALLAS — What’s in a name? Plenty, according to the industry professionals that operate and market active adult communities.
Jane Arthur Roslovic, co-founder and CEO of Treplus Communities, says that “if anybody called [her] a senior” she’d “smack them.”
Roslovic’s quip came during a panel discussion — titled “Operating and Marketing: Best Practices in Lease-Up, Sales and Programming” — at the 5th annual InterFace Active Adult conference. The daylong event took place Wednesday, May 7, at The Westin Las Colinas in Dallas.
Roslovic and her fellow panelists argued that the same reluctance to be branded as a “senior” extends to prospective residents of active adult communities. The key to attracting and retaining residents, the panelists insisted, is to not only provide excellent product but also understand and cater to the public’s perception of age-restricted properties.
Active adult communities are age-eligible, market-rate multifamily properties with enhanced lifestyle programming, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). Unlike independent living communities, active adult properties do not provide meals.
Joining Roslovic on stage were panel moderator Maureen Longoria, co-founder of LivNow Relocation; Kelly Blaskowsky, president of Capstone Real Estate Services; Kristi Oliver, vice president of operations with True Connections; Michael DiGiacomo, chief operating officer at The United Group of Companies Inc.; and Tiffany Goodman, a senior director of real estate specializing in active adult at Greystar.
“Words like ‘senior’ and ‘retirement’ have really got to be eliminated,” continued Roslovic, who also noted that there is a lack of understanding surrounding the active adult subsector as a whole.
Calls for Consumer Outreach Campaign
Championing the idea proposed by Ray Braun, president and CEO of NIC, Roslovic recommended the active adult industry launch its own “Got Milk” campaign — an organized, concentrated effort to bring awareness to the public.
“I just think it’s really important, and it’s going to take everybody in this room and the developers who aren’t in this room to come up with a campaign,” emphasized Roslovic.
Reaching and educating consumers before debuting individual properties is also critical to success, said Goodman. “We want to make sure that starts at a minimum of 12 months ahead of the building opening, so that we have the right amount of time for brand education, especially in new markets that we’re just entering,” she elaborated.
DiGiacomo added that communicating with would-be residents is also important to convey the value of living in active adult communities over their non-age-restricted multifamily counterparts.
“We have to be able to tell the consumer what the product is really, really clearly,” said DiGiacomo. “If you’re asking for a premium, which we all are, you need to educate them on what they’re getting for that.”
Goodman reports that one way Greystar achieves product awareness is by including guest suites in its properties for interested individuals to experience a community before making a decision — what she called an opportunity to “try before you buy.”
Engagement Initiatives
One way to reach consumers is to engage with the surrounding community, said Blaskowsky. She specified that this could include “building relationships with senior community centers, and even daycares, because a lot of the grandparents are looking to move.”
If you’re in an area that’s high in residential family homes, those are great opportunities to connect,” Blaskowsky continued.
Social media also provides ample opportunity to reach prospective residents. “Getting those posts on social media, seeing the TikTok videos, seeing the engagement, helps to create that excitement about the product that’s coming,” pointed out Blaskowsky.
Longoria believes that social media content is also a useful tool in engaging with the families of prospective active adult residents. Engaging the adult child is important because residents want to be near their kids and grandkids.
The panel moderator also asked panelists how many move-ins operators employing these marketing strategies can expect in today’s landscape.
Naturally, the number of move-ins is partly dependent upon individual markets, Goodman pointed out. “We have markets like Dallas, which has the highest saturation and active adult built product in the country, where obviously you’re going to see a lower volume of leads and conversions per month just based upon competition,” explained Goodman.
As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the Dallas market had the largest number of active adult properties at 49 properties and 7.2 percent of all active adult inventory nationally.
The days of double-digit move-ins on a monthly basis are gone, at least temporarily, said DiGiacomo. “We had a property up to 11 [move-ins] last month, but we’re averaging six to eight.”
DiGiacomo argued that retention is perhaps even more important than move-ins at this stage. “If you’re averaging six [move-ins], and you’re losing six, it doesn’t really matter. Retention is really the focal point for us right now.”
Oliver agreed with DiGiacomo. “It doesn’t matter how many people we move in; if we’re moving just as many out, all we’re doing is spinning our wheel,” she said.
To maintain a healthy retention rate, some of the same dynamics, like the importance of engaging with residents, remain at play.
“I can talk culture and people, but it’s also investing in our talent and trying to find ways to create operational efficiencies so that they have more time to spend with the residents,” explained Oliver.
Ultimately, there is no shortage of adults that would be interested in (and a good fit) for active adult communities, as Longoria pointed out at the panel’s close. “The customer is out there for you all, you’ve just got to go find them.”
— Hayden Spiess