Gated Golf Communities

Gated golf communities are an important component of the Active Adult Retirement real estate market, which is currently one of the fastest growing real estate market segments, even in the current down market. For many boomers 55 and over, nothing says “active” like golf, and retiring to a community with an award winning golf course in your back yard (literally) is a dream come true proposition for retirement. Considering how many boomers are entering retirement every day, it’s easy to understand why the demand remains steady, while other new home markets are still struggling.

So, what exactly makes a gated golf community truly special? Most would argue that it starts with a top notch golf course. But that is not the only defining requirement. “Gated” implies several things, primarily the concepts of security, and exclusivity. Other factors include spacious, well designed homes, quality construction, and a wide range of desirable amenities to round out the picture.  And of course, let’s not forget location. All of these factors are very important to look for in a quality gated golf community.

For obvious reasons, whether we are retirement age or not, we all want and need security in our homes and communities. Gated golf communities provide very well defined security gates to monitor and control access into and out of the retirement community. While automated control systems play a role in this process, most new gated communities have security staff on duty at all times to ensure unauthorized “visits” are prevented, and to be first responders if residents need help.

Exclusivity is a bit more subtle, but still important to active adult retirees living in gated communities. The reason is that these are people that have worked hard, prospered, and saved effectively for retirement. They want to live in safety, comfort, and to some extent, luxury. In other words, they have earned the “right” to live in relative privacy, and to be selective about the community they choose to retire to. If that community were accessible and populated with people of varying ages, income, and other demographics, it could stand to jeopardize the quality of the active retirement lifestyle.

Gated golf communities are master planned communities that include state of the art golf courses and infrastructure as anchors within the overall community plan. Individual plots are spacious enough, and spaced appropriately on site, to afford individual home owners comfort and privacy. In a good gated community, well qualified architects are retained, in addition to renowned golf course architects in many cases, to pay special attention to these details. The demographic we are talking about, active adult boomers, are generally not interested in spending their golden years in a sardine can living arrangement.

It goes without saying that if you are prepared to invest in a new home within a resort retirement living community, and prepared to spend possibly the rest of your life there, that quality of construction is an extremely important factor to consider when making your new home purchase.

The best way to ensure a high standard of quality is to research the new home builder of any gated community you are considering. There is no shortage of home builders, but in today’s economy and down market, quite frankly, only the very best, most established, and most reputable builders are likely to stay in business. In a sense, this makes your homework much easier, because a decent percentage of less established builders are either out of business or headed in that direction.

In any case, your safest bet is to go with a nationally known, highly reputed new home builder, with a proven track record of success with master planned gated golf communities.

And now for the fun part. As I already mentioned, arguably the most important amenity available in a gated golf community would be (can you guess?) – the golf course. Kind of a no-brainer.

But it doesn’t stop there. The “better half” of many retired couples (whichever half that may be) may in fact not have any interest in golf at all, right? Not pointing fingers here, nor am I feeding any stereotypes. Golfers come in all ages, sizes, sexes, etc.

But what about tennis? Yoga? Massage? Spa facilities? Fitness facilities? Studio classes? And, stepping away from sport, recreation, and mind/body activities for a second – what about dining at a 4 or 5 star restaurant? All of these, and potentially more, are also vital to feeding and maintaining the active adult resort retirement lifestyle.

Some would argue this is actually the most important factor to consider when choosing a gated golf community. For obvious reasons, retirees are seeking warm, sunny climates with amenable weather at most times of the year. As such, Florida is well known as a retirement destination, but the sunshine state is not the only game in town for gated retirement communities. Arizona, Southern California, Central Coast, Palm Desert, and even Northern California and Washington are all blossoming with beautiful gated golf communities.

If you're in the market for a brand new home in a gated golf community, the following is a list of highly recommended gated golf retirement communities for you to consider.They meet and exceed all key, defining criteria outlined on this hub. Enjoy, and I hope to see you at Tee Time!

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