A recent survey of more than 53,000 retirement and independent living residents, conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers in conjunction with the Property Council, has shown that Australian retirement villages have a 92 per cent occupancy rate, and the demand currently shows no signs of slowing down.

On Sydney’s Upper North Shore, where there are 1571 local retirement village dwellings, Ku-ring-gai ranked sixth for people aged between 90 and 99, and Hornsby was eighth of 128 NSW council areas, as 2016 Census data shows.

There were 26,511 residents aged between 60 and 69 and about 18,000 aged 70 to 79, living in Hornsby and Ku-ring-gai in 2016.

The demographic of ‘typical’ retirement living residents who are 55+ years old has changed, with only four per cent now younger than 65.

The average age of new residents moving to retirement living was 75 in 2015, the report found.

Property Council CEO Ken Morrison said the report showed a need to ensure there is “sufficient seniors housing available” in “all parts of our major cities”, and not “just on the urban fringe”.

“The average village age is 24 years-old, and many villages are approaching a stage where significant redevelopment will be required.” 

“This is vital so that residents can live close to their communities and families,” Mr Morrison said.