Retirement Real Estate Silver & Gold North Carolina's rising status as a retiree haven portends economic benefits only now becoming clear By Lisa H. Towle	St. James Plantation residents enjoy membership in a private beach club on nearby Oak Island
	Learn More: Retirees offer intellectual capital as well Betting on the Boomers

Sixty-nine year-old Jerry Cline and his wife, Colette, 63, are at once amused and perplexed that anyone would consider them emblems for anything, including retirement. And of course it’s true that one couple’s retirement experience does not a national trend make. But the where and how of their living sheds light on North Carolina as a destination of choice for older Americans, and why an increasing number of people believe retirees are a viable, if overlooked, source of economic development.

Four and a half years ago, Colette retired from her marketing position with Nortel Networks in Research Triangle Park. Jerry followed suit two years ago when he turned over the reins of Cline, Jobe & Associates of Raleigh, an outplacement and career management consulting firm he co-owned. With the cessation of full-time for-pay work, their children grown and their retirement fund in reasonably sound condition, the Clines finally were ready to embrace the third age. 

As their life plan had it, entering retirement meant exiting the hustle and bustle of the city. They had no intention, however, of leaving the state. “We were not inclined to go anywhere but North Carolina, because where do you go from here? You have it all from the mountains to the sea,” explains Colette, originally a French Canadian.

Ultimately, the couple sold their primary residence in North Raleigh as well as a smaller second home in coastal Brunswick County’s planned St. James Plantation community, whose residents successfully lobbied to incorporate as the town of St. James. The proceeds from those sales help finance the building of a 2,600-square-foot single-family detached home located on one of St. James’s three championship golf courses, all of which have been certified as Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries.

Not that they spend a lot of time at their year-round residence. Their lives are active, what with playing golf three days a week, card games with friends, dances, book clubs, dining out and travel. Colette speaks for many retirees when she notes, “We don’t sit home well.” In fact, anecdotal evidence, historical precedent and statistics suggest that the “psychograph-ics” of retirement are undergoing profound shifts that will only escalate as baby boomers begin entering the next phase of their lives.


Not Your Parents’ Retirement

“People are retiring differently than their parents did,” says Dave Robertson, president of Wilmington-based Realty Presentations Inc. In personal appearances around the country as well as through a web site and a magazine he publishes, Robertson “connects” with tens of thousands of people each year while helping to sell real estate in retirement-oriented communities in southern states. He estimates that more than half of those he communicates with say that North Carolina is their preferred choice when it comes to a retirement destination.

Many if not most of the people in his own and admittedly informal survey are affluent and interested in homes with easy access to marinas, golf courses, ski resorts and the like. These things are easily found in the state’s amenity-laden developments designed to take years to build out. Bolstering the economic development argument is the fact that older residents’ property taxes, among others, help pay for services, including schools.

Consider the Elk River Club in the mountains of Avery County near Banner Elk. Begun in 1984 by developer Spencer Robbins, Elk River, with its 50,000-square-foot clubhouse, highly acclaimed 18-hole championship Jack Nicklaus golf course, equestrian center, tennis, swimming and fitness center, and private jetport capable of accommodating both private and corporate aircraft, is primarily a second-home community for retirees, many of them former CEOs.

“We have residents in their 60s and 70s, and many people would assume they’d be interested in sizing down,” Robbins says. “But no, they’re building 6,000- to 15,000-square-foot houses. Most everyone’s lifestyle has changed over the past 30 or 40 years. They want something more plush, even in retirement.” In Elk River, condominiums range from $350,000 to $1 million and single family homes start at $750,000 and top out at $5 million.

Certainly, no one contends that such eye-popping numbers are the norm. But retirees do have financial assets. An AARP report, The State of 50+ America, published in January, notes that “despite setbacks in financial markets over the past few years, plus lingering effects of the recent recession, midlife and older Americans are measurably better off today, sometimes substantially so, than they were a decade ago, and two-thirds of them remain optimistic about their retirement prospects.”

When tracking median financial assets (admittedly more problematic because they may be less affected by the overall trend in equities, since the median household holds a smaller percentage in equities than the average for all households), AARP found positive news. Those aged 50 and older held $29.1 trillion, or 69 percent, of all $42.2 trillion in net worth in the U.S. in 2001, up from 56 percent in 1983, and they held about 73 percent of all financial assets. It’s elementary economics that North Carolina stands to win if a chunk of that money circulates within the state.

Charles F. Longino Jr., a professor of sociology and public health at Wake Forest University, is nationally recognized for his research on migration trends of people over age 60. His study of past and current census data shows that only about 5 percent of all retirees move a long distance from the homes in which they’ve been living. That’s likely to change, though. The number of retirees who move will climb as millions of baby boomers, already known for their mobile lifestyle, start leaving the work force in the next 10 years. What’s not likely to change is that they, like their predecessors, will continue to concentrate their destinations.

After mining the most recent Census Bureau figures, Longino has concluded that while Florida still is the place of choice for the most footloose of the 60 and older crowd, its hold on the market is slipping. It attracted 19 percent, or about 394,000 of the nearly 2.1 million U.S. residents who made interstate moves between 1995 and 2000. The 2000 figure was down 13 percent from a decade earlier, making it the first time in at least four decades that Florida attracted less than one-fifth of this population. Arizona is second to Florida, followed by California, Texas and then North Carolina.

Indeed, North Carolina’s rise to fifth place has been steady. In the 1960s the state ranked 27th nationally as a retiree magnet. Then, says Longino, in the ’70s in was 17th. By the ’80s it had leapt to seventh place, and in the 1990s it was rounding out the top five.

So who is it that’s retiring to North Carolina? Again, using data gleaned by Longino, the largest “exporting” region is the Northeast. New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania combine to give North Carolina 25 percent of its out-of-state retirees. They come seeking, among other things, a warmer climate, less expensive housing and property taxes, and more open spaces. Ironically, the next biggest exporter (16 percent) of retirees is Florida, either its longtime residents or those who initially retired there from someplace else, found it unsatisfactory (“too hot,” is a common complaint, “too far from family,” is another), and moved again. Most other people come from adjacent states.


Returning for Good

Of all the factors that have contributed to the realization of North Carolina’s promise as a retirement haven, one is particularly powerful if unheralded: previous experience with the state. People who at some point in their lives worked, studied, vacationed or visited family in North Carolina were impressed enough to return for good. This is one facet of what demographers call “chain migration,” in which one event or link leads to another and then another.

Members of the military with their famously nomadic lifestyles are known for this. The desire for a familiar environment with easy access to privileges — care at military hospitals and shopping in military-run stores, to name two — often lead retirees back to an area where they served. The developers of Anderson Creek Club banked on this, and indeed retired personnel are among those buying into the 1,700-acre, gated, master planned golf community located in Harnett County, just over the line from Cumberland County, home of both Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base.

By the time its development is completed, Anderson Creek, carved from pine forest, will boast not just single-family and multifamily homes but retailers, restaurants and recreation centers. Mindful of its base, the club’s owners, says Lee Handsel, director of sales and marketing, are also seriously considering “an assisted living resource for those residents who age out of an active lifestyle or don’t have the strength to physically care for their homes.”

Over at Uwharrie Point and the Old North State Club on Badin Lake, what began more than a decade ago as a second home community now has three distinct markets: Second homes, primary homes and primary retirement homes. “The desire to be in close proximity to kids and grandkids has been a significant motivating factor for people choosing to come here,” explains Chip Conner, a managing partner of Uwharrie Point Associates. For instance, one couple relocated to Uwharrie Point from out of state because it provided equal access to their four children (two in Raleigh, one in Greensboro and one in Charlotte) and 13 grandchildren. Another retired couple was clearly influenced by the choices of their two children who attended Wake Forest University and decided to stay in North Carolina. They left Chicago and headed to the Old North State Club, where golf course and lake lots start at $350,000 and houses sell from $300,000 to $3 million.

The chain of events that led Bob and Gail Howell, now aged 65 and 63, to migrate to Mountain Air Country Club near the Blue Ridge town of Burnsville began in 1962. The couple, about to be married, was seeking a place to honeymoon that was far from their native Florida’s scenery and climate but close enough for comfortable travel. They found what they were looking for in North Carolina’s southern mountains. As their family grew they continued to vacation in the mountains, along the way purchasing a townhouse in order to make the most of their time in the Tar Heel State.

Then, about 14 years ago, Bob read that Randy Banks, a Burnsville native and former professional skier, was planning on developing — in an environmentally sensitive way — land that had been in his family for generations. He drove over to take a look. As a civil engineer, the size and scope of the project, including a paved runway (at 4,400 feet above sea level, the highest east of the Mississippi), intrigued him. The vistas were dramatic, the proposed amenities decidedly up market. He and Gail, a travel agent, conferred and sent a message to Banks, CEO of the community to be known as Mountain Air: “We want to buy a piece of this. Hurry up!”

They purchased a half-acre lot in 1990. In 1997, the year they both retired, their 3,500-square-foot home with workshop and a small wine cellar was completed. For the next six years they divided their time equally between Florida and North Carolina, but in a reversal it was the Mountain Air house they considered their primary residence. Last November, after selling their condo in Florida, the Howells moved to Yancey County full-time. Though their home is on an excellent golf course, they don’t play golf — they just really liked the unsurpassed view. Instead, they stay busy with hiking, photography, courses at nearby UNC-Asheville designed for seniors, visits from their children and grandchildren (who live outside North Carolina), and cooking classes, wine tastings and myriad other community activities planned by Randy Banks’ wife, Jeani.

Banks estimates that 30 to 40 percent of Mountain Air homeowners are retired, and most of the rest are in “pre-retirement mode.” While only about 50 families, or 10 percent of the total ownership, live there year round, “it’s like summer camp for adults here all the time,” says Banks.

What’s not so laid-back is the financial benefit of Mountain Air, where home sites range from $300,000 to more than $600,000 and residences can top $1 million.

“This community is a net positive for western North Carolina and Yancey County,” Banks contends. “We represent less than half a percent of the land but collectively pay approximately 13 percent of the taxes in the county. To look at it another way, there’s somewhere between 17,000 and 18,000 people in Yancey County and 500 of them are paying 13 percent of the taxes. We are good citizens for many reasons, and one of them is we more than pay our way.”


Competing for Market Share

Banks’ point is well-taken. Obviously, an influx of older residents, particularly those who’ve moved away from their original support structures, concerns officials who worry about stress on health systems and social services as people start to age in place. But as a 2003 report by the Destination Florida Commission found, older residents paid $2.8 billion more in taxes to state and local governments than the governments spent on them in services.

Florida is so concerned about losing retiree market share that Gov. Jeb Bush created the Destination Commission and asked it for ways to make Florida even more retiree friendly. And other states, eager to land on the top retirement havens list, are aggressively pursuing those who have retired or are about to. Mississippi has designated 20 locales that met a strict set of “retiree friendly” criteria as Certified Retirement Cities, and are advertising them nationally. Alabama is heavily promoting a string of golf communities as great places to live and play.

“There’s no reason for a gray peril mentality, especially in North Carolina where the population of retirees aged 60 and over has grown steadily but gradually,” says Charles Longino, the sociologist and gerontologist. “By far, most people who retire here have enough income to take care of themselves. The money they spend circulates in the local economy and they’re not taking jobs from others. What’s to be afraid of?”

David Ammons, CEO of Retirement Living Associates Inc., headquartered in Raleigh, concurs with Longino’s assessment. One aspect of RLA’s business is the development of continuing care communities for seniors around the state. Its portfolio includes Springmoor, a private-pay, highly amenitized facility in Raleigh offering independent living, assisted living and nursing care. When Ammons opened Springmoor back in the mid-80’s, the vast majority of residents (85 percent) were from Wake County. Today, that figure stands at 50 to 55 percent, reflecting the number of people who’ve moved to the area to be near family members, for instance.

With its 600 residents and 420 employees, Springmoor is a $2 million-a-month business. Ammons, who allows that “my opinion may be skewed,” nevertheless argues that “we all, the entire state, benefits from having a large number of retirees. It’s not just about spending and disposable income, it’s about principles, experience and wisdom.”


Retirees Offer Intellectual Capital As Well
John Bardo, chancellor of Western Carolina University, has devoted a lot of thought to retirees over the past two years. That’s no surprise given that his neck of the woods in a burgeoning retirement center. What he’s concluded is “retirement is a major economic issue for the region,” and instead of being framed only in terms of people who need services, it should be considered an “industrial sector” unto itself.

“This population represents a very significant brain gain to the region,” says Bardo, who is seeking ways to build mutually beneficial relationships between WCU and its new neighbors.

First, there are, increasingly, alumni who, having succeeded in their chosen fields, are returning to Cullowhee, purchasing primary or second homes near the campus, and wanting to volunteer at the university. They offer, the chancellor believes, “an important cadre of intellectual capital — and we’re trying to work out how best to exploit that for the good of the region.”

Second, he’s been able to hire, at well below market rates, retirees aged 50 to 70 who bring valuable business and life experiences to the school. There’s the former executive with Young and Rubicam as well as IBM who now heads WCU’s Center for Regional Development. There are two recruiters with the admissions office, including a past high school principal who concentrates on education majors. And there’s the one-time U.S. State Department officer familiar with national security measures leading Western Carolina’s emergency management program. 

That’s just the beginning. WCU plans to institute a program that will allow for a more systematic analysis of who’s moving to the area so skill sets and needs can be matched. Bardo wants to see retirees teaching, particularly at the graduate level, and working in the small business and entrepreneur program.

“The issue here isn’t the income, because what we can offer is only considered supplemental. Nor is this about age, we don’t worry about that. It’s about achievement and intellect, and being curious and excited about life — those are hallmarks of this group of people,” says Bardo.

He concludes: “Ours is a fledgling effort, but my sense is that while retirees are not an untapped asset they are certainly underused. We intend to correct that because they have the potential to make a huge impact here.”  — Lisa H. Towle


Betting on the Boomers
For years it’s been an article of faith among those with a stake in the retirements of others — developers, Realtors, investment advisers, to name a few — that a tidal wave of business will come their way as members of the baby boom generation start to retire, hopefully early. But now come the voices of caution, who say, “not so fast!”

The calculus of retirement planning has never been particularly easy, but demographers, sociologists and others who track the lives, movements and habits of people believe that as they have with everything else, this behemoth of a cohort will make things complex.

This generation — those that married late and divorced more, had fewer children and invested more in them, traveled a lot and job-hopped — approaches retirement with a high debt load and other obligations that their predecessors had dispensed with by the time of the third age.

It’s not that the boomers won’t retire, it’s just that they will have to be even more creative in their strategizing in order to get to where they want to be. That likely means some combination of work, retirement and travel. “Anyway you look at it, right now, it’s the calm before the storm,” says sociologist Charles Longino.   — Lisa H. Towle


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