Home is more than just the structures we live in. It’s the neighborhoods, people and places we surround ourselves with, and the proximity of our dwelling to the places that are important to us. These factors all have an impact on wellness, and are all important to consider as part of a client or customer’s overall home. According to the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the global wellness economy was a $4.5 trillion market in 2018, growing by 6.4 percent annually from 2015 to 2017. Among these growing wellness trends, is wellness real estate. This segment was a $134 billion global industry in 2017, and is projected to grow to a $198 billion market by 2023.
Wellness real estate and communities have evolved from decades of wellness-focused living trends, starting in the 1980s, according to GWI. As aspects such as universal design, multi-generational design and feng shui took hold, designers, developers and manufacturers noticed a growing interest in people’s desire to live well. This paved the way for sustainable building, smart home technology and communities planned around wellness lifestyles.
In 2018, there were more than 740 wellness lifestyle real estate and community developments built, partially built or in development across 34 countries.
But, as GWI points out, people do not live in real estate; they live in homes, neighborhoods and communities. So what features are residents looking for when they’re buying a new home? The National Association of Realtors’ 2019 Sustainability Report surveyed Realtors and asked what features were most important to their clients. Location is important, but so are comfortable living spaces, exterior quality, and smart and efficient technology and lighting. Read on for the full results.
What's the difference between wellness lifestyle real estate and a wellness community?
Wellness lifestyle real estate: Homes that are proactively designed and built to support the holistic health of their residents.
Wellness community: A group of people who share common goals, interests and experiences in proactively pursuing wellness across its many dimensions, living in close proximity.
Source: Build Well to Live Well: Wellness Lifestyle Real Estate & Communities – January 2018, Global Wellness Institute
