Baby boomers up their clout in NYC luxury condo market

Demographic accounts for 75 percent of buyers at Toll Brothers’ Gramercy Park project

Baby boomers and a rendering of 160 East 22nd Street
Baby boomers and a rendering of 160 East 22nd Street

Baby boomers are moving in greater numbers to young, trendy New York City neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, often pushing prices up and prompting developers to tailor amenities to buyers in their golden years, the Wall Street Journal reported.

For example, home building giant Toll Brothers created its City Living division a decade ago, hoping to target increasingly affluent young buyers, the company’s CEO Doug Yearley told the newspaper. What they didn’t expect, however, was that baby boomers would end up buying such a large share of the homes.

Boomers account for roughly 75 percent of the buyers so far for the company’s newest condominium, 160 East 22nd Street, currently under construction in Gramercy Park, and about 35 percent of buyers at their Northside Piers project in Williamsburg.

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The developer is now marketing its buildings to boomers by increasing amenities such as fitness centers and wine storage rooms, Yearley added. But what they won’t do, Yearley said, is install amenities that would make boomers conscious of their age.

“We don’t want to remind any buyers,” Yearley said, “that one day they might need a grab bar.” [WSJ]  – Hiten Samtani