Wellness, Walkability, and Community: The New Checklist for Senior Homebuyers

By Dr. Gautam Kanodia, Founder, KREEVA and Kanodia Group

Corridors a little wider than what regulations strictly require, pathways that loop rather than terminate, benches that are not decorative but actually usable. One starts to notice these things when walking with their ageing parents. Things that were taken for granted assume a different connotation when people start to look at real estate projects through the eyes of a senior citizen.

For a segment that was once treated as an extension of healthcare or as an afterthought in township planning, senior housing is beginning to take on a new understanding. Not a medical one. And that distinction is where wellness, walkability, and community begin to intersect.

According to Savills, India will require investments in the range of USD 4.8 to 8.4 billion by 2030 to meet senior housing demand. Even though it’s a wide band, it reflects something real: the market is not fully formed yet, but it is no longer speculative either.

The distribution is also a concern. Nearly 68% of the existing supply is concentrated in South India, while North India, particularly non-metro locations, accounts for about 50% of emerging projects. NCR, despite its wealth density, is still negotiating what senior living should look like. Not in the idealised, urban-planning sense of the word, but in a much more practical way. Can you step out without thinking? Can you reach something without assistance? The difference between a 200-metre walk and a 500-metre one becomes disproportionately important at a certain stage of life. Developers know this, but they don’t always design for it.

Wellness, too, has undergone a quiet reframing. It is no longer about the presence of a gym or a yoga room. In fact, in some projects, these spaces feel like carryovers from conventional housing templates. The more thoughtful developments are embedding wellness into daily movement, light, air, proximity to green zones, and the absence of friction in routine activities.

At the same time, buyers who prioritise calm, low-density environments also expect immediate access to tertiary healthcare. This pushes projects closer to urban edges, where land costs begin to distort planning decisions.

Policy is trying to intervene, in parts. Haryana’s move to increase FAR through Transferable Development Rights (TDR) for retirement housing, from 2.25 to 3.0, does improve project viability. It allows developers to structure financially workable models in high-cost corridors. It brings us to community. Along with programming, events, clubhouses, and activity calendars, it also required something less orchestrated, such as places that enhance informal interactions, shared routines, and spaces that allow for presence without obligation.

Experts are also of the view that many seniors are not moving because they need assistance. They are moving to avoid becoming dependent later, and it is being made earlier than expected. People in their late 40s and early 50s are evaluating these projects, sometimes quietly, sometimes as part of a broader portfolio of life decisions.

The market is inching towards something closer to a service ecosystem, managed living, healthcare integration, and social infrastructure that doesn’t feel imposed. There’s also the question of location. Infrastructure expansion, expressways, metro networks, and airports have improved accessibility. Areas such as Dwarka Expressway that felt peripheral five years ago are now viable, even preferable, for long-term living. And yet, proximity still matters. Not just to hospitals, but to familiar urban anchors, markets, cultural spaces, and even places of worship. Walkability, in that sense, extends beyond the site boundary.

The sector is evolving from fragmented, almost experimental beginnings to a more formalised asset class. Even now, in discussions with developers and investors, there is a tendency to frame senior living in terms of “opportunity” and “growth.” Which is accurate, but incomplete. The more relevant question is whether the industry can move beyond compliance-driven design and genuinely engage with how people want to live as they age.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the author, and not necessarily of Realty&More.