The built environment is the next frontier and the most important future opportunity for well-being. The home is responsible for 85% of health outcomes, i.e. where and how we live.
The Global Wellness Institute (GWI), considered the leading global research and education resource for the wellness industry, reports that nearly 15% of global GDP is spent on construction annually.
Because of this and the sector’s impact on the wider economy, wellness real estate is one of eleven sectors that GWI tracks annually.
In short, it’s on fire.
Over the past few years, wellness real estate has been the fastest growing sector, increasing by 19.5% last year and expected to continue growing by 15.2% annually between 2024 and 2029. Recently released GWI data estimates that the wellness real estate sector is now valued at $548 billion globally.
Developers, homebuilders and investors are increasingly seeing the impact that an intentional focus on wellness has on their businesses, and for good reason. In the latter America home study60% of consumers cited “improves my health and well-being” as the top reason they want certain features and technologies in their home. That’s an increase of 17% from the same survey just two years ago: a significant increase in the value consumers place on well-being.
The impact of wellness real estate
Until now, “wellness” as something to be planned and designed has been a vague, wishy-washy idea for builders and developers. With the publication of the GWI this summer of Build well to live well: case studiesthere is now a resource to help clear the fog.
This first case study volume focuses on projects in the United States and the United Kingdom. The GWI research team selected projects that were built and in operation, where they had direct access to the developer/owner and could visit in person. The projects represent diverse approaches to certification, regional contexts, scales/asset classes, target groups and price points. The result is a tangible, actionable resource that can be downloaded for free: Build well to live well: case studies.
Each case study includes:
- A summary overview (project type, location, size, price points, year of delivery, developer/owner, certifications achieved, web links, etc.)
- A master story, organized by each project’s distinctive approach to wellbeing, describing the intentions and target audience, the thinking behind the design process and the specific steps taken to design and implement features that support wellbeing for people.
- Statistics and results for any project that has documented health/wellbeing or financial/business impacts.
- A section on how each project specifically addressed GWI’s six dimensions of wellness real estate: physical, mental and spiritual; social; civic and community life; environment; and economic and financial.
Key Takeaways
Wellness real estate is rapidly transforming from a niche market to mainstream.
- From physical well-being > to multi-dimensional well-being
- From luxury homes > to diverse price ranges and demographics, ‘democratizing wellbeing’
- From small-scale passion projects to large-scale master-planned communities, urban districts and portfolio-wide adoption
- From planetary health > to human health
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to wellness real estate.
- The most effective wellness real estate projects utilize intentional, thoughtful and situational designs and activities that take into account the unique wellness needs of residents.
- Wellness certifications are a useful tool, but are not a requirement for wellness real estate projects.
Wellness real estate projects encompass the multi-dimensional aspects of human health and well-being.
- Healthy indoor air, thermal comfort, opportunities for physical activity and biophilic elements are becoming a given in wellness real estate projects.
- Green building and healthy building increasingly overlap and become inextricably linked.
- Mental wellness is not just about designing a meditation space; it means reducing daily friction and easing the mental burden of residents.
- Community is an essential dimension of well-being, and the importance of social connections is recognized in both design and programming.
- Economic and financial well-being is no longer an afterthought, and the increasing lack of viable housing not only impacts the purchase price, but also includes ongoing operating costs.
Wellness real estate projects deliver both business and wellness benefits.
- Wellness real estate projects are performing strongly from a business perspective, with an average sales price premium of 10%-25% for residential properties (GWI) and a rental premium of 4.4%-7.7% per square meter for commercial properties (MIT). However, price premiums are not the only driver; these projects also focus on human health and well-being outcomes.
Per capita spending on wellness in North America was $6,029 in 2024, growing 7.9% annually from 2019 to 2024 (data from GWI).
In addition to increased awareness of the impact of the built environment on health, underlying forces driving the growth of wellness include an aging population, the rise of chronic diseases, the unsustainable costs of the sick care model, widespread mental unwellness, and a growing awareness of healthy lifestyles and wellness modalities.
The goal of researching and publishing this collection of projects is to inspire builders, developers and investors to build more diverse, creative and inclusive wellness real estate projects in the future.
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