-- Posted Thursday, 14 December 2006 | Digg This Article
| Source: GoldSeek.com
Rick’s Picks
Thursday, December 14, 2006
“Phenomenally accurate forecasts”
If you’re looking for rock-bottom bargains in real estate, try south Florida – a decade from now, that is. Ever wondered what’s going to happen to all of those quiet retirement communities in places like Delray, Boynton and Boca Raton when it comes time for the elderly folks who live there now to turn over the keys to their Baby Boomer children? Well wonder no more. A plausible answer is that the boomers, having no apparent interest in retiring to a sedentary life in Florida, will be looking to unload their legacy homes and condos in the Sunshine State so that they can buy retirement homes in more interesting places -- places like New York, Chicago and L.A.
Come again? That, at least, is what I’ve inferred from a fascinating interview with homebuilder Robert Toll in Wednesday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal. Toll, known as the king of suburban minimansions, has shifted his sights somewhat, adding to the mix high-rise condos in urban centers, including Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and – better sit down for this – Hoboken. He explains: “We are following our people. We have been a builder to the baby boom since we began. First that took us into the move-up luxury home business, then into golf-course resort communities. It has [now] taken us into the active adult communities. The city is a combination resort community, but the resort is New York City – or Chicago or L.A. or Miami.”
No Pinochle or Buicks
So there you have it. Worry no more, my fellow boomers, that you might wind up whiling away your golden years playing pinochle in a gated community’s lounge, going for groceries in a golf cart, and having your Buick washed, waxed and detailed for that big night on the town once a month.
If anyone would know how, and where, the baby boom generation is likely to retire, it is Toll, one of the most successful real estate developers in the country. “We are more hip-hop and happening than our parents,” he says, capturing in a single sentence the essence not only of boomers’ retirement expectations, but of their entire gestalt . In the interview, Toll did not explicitly put the knock on Florida real estate. However, if, over the next decade, millions of us are going to be looking for suitably hip-hop places to retire, you can bet that south coastal Florida will not be on our short list. Who, then, will fill all of those gated communities? It’s unclear at this point, but “bargain-hunters” seems like a reasonable answer.
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London Seminar
I’ve had some requests to give a Hidden Pivot seminar in London, but not quite enough yet to make the trip worthwhile. If you’d be interested in attending a two-day class there, probably sometime in the spring of 2007, please let me know via e-mail, including your contact information.
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Information and commentary contained herein comes from sources believed to be reliable, but this cannot be guaranteed. Past performance should not be construed as an indicator of future results, so let the buyer beware. Rick's Picks does not provide investment advice to individuals, nor act as an investment advisor, nor individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. From time to time, its editor may hold positions in issues referred to in this service, and he may alter or augment them at any time. Investments recommended herein should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor, and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Rick's Picks reserves the right to use e-mail endorsements and/or profit claims from its subscribers for marketing purposes. All names will be kept anonymous and only subscribers’ initials will be used unless express written permission has been granted to the contrary. All Contents © 2006, Rick Ackerman. All Rights Reserved. www.rickackerman.com
-- Posted Thursday, 14 December 2006 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
