In recently years, many enterprises are testing the water of senior housing in other cities. Statistics show that over 35% of the real estate enterprise brands have entered into or have announced their entry into the senior housing industry. Real estate enterprise brands including Vanke, Poly, China Overseas Land & Investment and China Resources have worked out their plans for senior housing development in recent years.

Then, what is the status quo of senior housing in Xiamen, such a beautiful and prosperous coastal city? What will be the future trend of its development? The industry is facing a big “reshuffle”, and the real estate enterprise brands extend their business reach to the senior housing area. During the process of self-exploration and innovation in the real estate industry, there is always some enterprise daring to be the “first crab eater”.  

Many signs have indicated that the prime time for the real estate market in China has gone and the whole industry is facing a big “reshuffle”. Considering that China is stepping into an ageing society, the real estate enterprise brands begin to extend their business reach to senior housing that has great potentials in order to possess competitive advantages. 　

According to the Xiamen Municipal Committee on Ageing, by the end of August 2014, the number of household registered elderly people aged 60 or above reaches 285,300 (rising by 20,700 year-on-year), representing 14.22% of the total household registered population in Xiamen (up by 0.56% year-on-year). In addition, there is a population of 137,500 elderly people aged above 60 with temporary residence. There are 42,500 elderly people aged 80 or above in the city, representing 14.90% of the total elderly population. Among them, 4094 persons are aged between 90 and 99, which number is a little bit higher year-on-year; and 116 persons are aged 100 or above, which number is slightly smaller year-on-year. 　

Xiamen is a beautiful city with flourishing flowers and plants in all seasons. The favorable ecological environment and fresh air has attracted thousands of egrets to inhabit here, forming a unique natural landscape in Xiamen. And also because the shape of Xiamen City on a map looks like an egret, so people call it the “Egret Island”. Boasting nice scenery, pleasing climate and the best environment in China, Xiamen is one of the most ideal cities for elderly people to live in. As a famous tourist city, Xiamen not only has beautiful natural sceneries, but also has a very clean and tidy city environment. One of the leading real estate enterprises in Xiamen, Gold Common Group (Xiamen), which has always been dedicated to development of a series of high-quality real property products in different cities, now takes the lead in offering a professional home-based elderly care service institution, “Warm Home Pension Center”, in the community. 　

It is worth to mention that, not only Gold Common Group (Xiamen) has entered into the senior housing sector, but the Housing Group also wants to test the water of senior housing. It is said that the Housing Group has inspected some land, but has not yet confirmed any project. Before, when the reporter visited the Community in Xiangling Road of Huli District where “Warm Home Pension Center” was located, an old lady Ms. Xu said to the reporter, “At this stage, since I can take care of myself, I will not consider living in the boring house for the elderly. Nor do I want to live at home alone, no fun at all. I would like to live in this center, where I can see so many friends and enjoy its good conditions.” “More than 60 members have settled down here so far,” introduced by Li Changyuan, the assistant general manager of Warm Home Pension Center, “Invested and operated by Gold Common Group (Xiamen), the Warm Home Pension Center is a large-scale non-governmental premium elderly care institution, established upon the approval of the Bureau of Civil Affairs of Xiamen Municipality. 　　

At present, those who pay a rental of RMB 3000 as the monthly membership fee may enjoy basic diagnosis and treatment in the community, pharmaceutical services, Green Path in Grade-A Class-3 hospitals, special care by full-time nurses, and other more in-depth services such as equipment rental, 3 meals a day cooked by star-rated chefs, as well as wonderful recreational and leisure activities.” Moreover, the Pension Center has a Buddha Hall exclusively provided for those elderly people who believe in Buddhism to recite Buddhist scripts and practice Buddhism. Not only the daily life needs and physiological needs of the elderly people are satisfied, but also their spiritual needs of a higher level are also valued. Some elderly people who cannot drop the old mindset still expect to be looked after by their children. It is understood that the mainstream profit-making models for senior housing business include the membership model, deposit model and lease & sale model. However, it is unlikely to cover the sky-high opening cost and long-term operating cost of senior housing under any of these models, so basically “the whole industry” is suffering a loss. 　

Perhaps it is because of the unclear future of senior housing that the business people engaged in this sector try to encourage themselves by talking about their own “dream”. Li Changyuan once said, he did business in the silver industry with a “l(fā)oving heart” instead of a “money heart”. He did not talk about things like “business is business”, but showed his heart and care for the senior people.  

It has been always a Chinese traditional mindset in the past centuries that we should bring up our children for a secured life in our old age. As the first generation of single children get married and set up their families, the family structure in the modern society has also changed as well. One family often need to support four elderly persons, far more than what they can take. Then, should we send elderly persons to the house for the elderly? Are elderly persons willing to go there?

The reporter has visited and interviewed some families in different districts in Xiamen about this issue. Many people in the city and busy with their work say that, as long as the elderly person is willing to live in a house for the elderly, they will consider sending the elderly person to live in a trustworthy establishment. However, most elderly people still wish to be looked after at home. Mr. Zhang, an old man living alone in Dongfu Town said, “Only those who do not have a family have to live in the house for the elderly. I have two sons and one daughter, so I am not going to live in a house for the elderly. If I go to live there, other people will certainly blame my children for not being filial, so I don’t want to go there.” Whenever the phrase “house for the elderly” is mentioned, the old man immediately turned hostile. Mr. Zhang became widowed when his wife passed away 20 years ago. Although he has 3 children, all of them are very busy. “I have three children. I brought them up mainly for having a secured life in my old age. Do I have to live in the house for the elderly now?” Mr. Zhang pulled his face immediately when hearing the idea of sending him to the house for the elderly. Through those days of interview, the reporter has found that all of the respondents are old, but they are still busy in the field and market. “As long as I am able to work, I will continue to work on, for the sake of myself and for the sake of my children.” Through observation, the reasons why elderly people are not willing to live in the house for the elderly include their thoughts against such an establishment, their lack of financial capacity and the imperfect elderly care system.