Just days away from the Retirement Living Summit, an annual forum of the retirement industry’s best and brightest leaders and village operators, one managing director of a renowned Australian retirement village provider has shared some insight on the future of investment in the retirement living sector.
Mark Bindon, co-founder and chief executive office of Oak Tree Group, leads an organization that incorporates 30 operating retirement villages from Hobart to Cairns, with 17 in development, and another 14 planned for the near future.
As every stage in Oak Tree village developments are carefully planned after years of detailed demographic analysis, Mr Bindon acknowledges that the “data driven organisation” has formulated a successful business blueprint that hasn’t changed in a decade.
“We look to qualify every decision we make, from the site location to services in our village. We don’t second-guess anything. We pressure test everything before we make a decision,” he says.
This data-driven strategy has convinced Bindon, who is optimistic about the retirement sector’s future. He notes that an increased population of seniors, a number of lifestyle products well-liked by baby boomers, and a good example set by New Zealand’s retirement industry all contribute to the upward growth of the retirement industry in Australia.
“Where we need to get better is at educating the investment community about the characteristics of each product,” he says.
Mr Bindon says there is still considerable confusion about the differences between the three primary models – retirement village, manufactured home park, and rental.
“One’s not better than the other, but they are different from a legislative point of view and from the audience they will attract. And this is what we need the investment community to understand.”
He’d like to see public seminars for investors which explains the different models, money flows, horizons and risks. “I think that would be a terribly exciting thing for our sector.”
Mr Bindon will be joining the ‘You had me at hello’ panel discussion at the Retirement Living Summit on the Gold Coast on 27-28 November.
