Difficult as it may be to believe, I am one of 78 million baby boomers, Americans born between 1946 and 1964. This means I have reached the magic age of 55 and now qualify for home ownership in an age restricted so-called active adult community. It is one of the fastest-growing segments of condo ownership in the tristate region. Still, I have no plans to join one myself. To qualify, one of the family members must be older than 55, and no children younger than 19 are allowed to be full-time residents.

Residential townhouses and single and attached one-family houses are in vogue in communities within driving distance of New York City. Developers include publicly traded home builders and local developers such as Pulte, WCI Communities, U.S. Homes, Lennar, Ginsburg, the Beechwood Organization, K. Hovnanian, and Toll Brothers. In a survey by the AARP, 80% of baby boomers said they plan to continue working past the age of 65, and part of the appeal of active adult communities in our region will be that residents will have access jobs in the city. Developers say they are appealing less to retirees and more to empty nesters who may or may not keep working.

There are new trends in buyers of active adult homes, and they’re different from those of our parents’ generation. Most baby boomer buyers of these homes want a smaller house (but still room for storage and grandchildren), little maintenance (no more mowing the lawn), and want to have a master bedroom on the first floor (because they recognize that one day stairs may pose a problem).The potential profiles of purchasers include individuals who are tired of maintaining large empty homes, many of whom have seen the value of their present home increase in value by more than half a million dollars over two to three decades. In many cases, they use the proceeds from the sale of their primary residence and move into the community with little or no mortgage. Base prices in the region range from $350,000 to $800,000 and have been known to exceed $1.5 million. In close to 75% of the purchases, buyers spend between $25,000 and $100,000 for upgrades, which include top-of-the-line kitchens, renovated second floors, and interiors. These age-restricted communities feature lifestyle amenities such as tennis courts, clubhouses, indoor and outdoor pools, bocce courts, and recreational activities.

A large group of active adult housing builders are focusing on the higher end of the market. But there is a large segment of the population climbing into the 55 and older range that doesn’t have a huge stock portfolio or lots of money in the bank. These buyers are teachers, police officers, and people who work in the trades. They make up a substantial portion of those who are reaching 55 each year.

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As is the trend in real estate, prices are escalating at a record pace for new active adult homes. Sixth months ago, Pulte Homes opened its 189-unit attached residential development, Westhampton Pines, in Suffolk County, a few miles from the village of Westhampton Beach. Prices have risen more than 25% since the first sale of those units.

Three basic models are now priced from $600,000,or $300 a square foot. The development is built on the former site of the Westhampton drag racing track and is adjacent to the police training facility. A total of 19 of the 189 units are reserved for affordable housing and will be offered by lottery under supervision of the town of Southampton. Ten units will be sold for $140,000 and nine units for $190,000. Final rules on who qualifies have yet to be released.

Less than four miles from the Pulte development is the WCI Communities development, Encore Atlantic Shores, in the town of Eastport. Five models range in size from 1,620 to 3,200 square feet. The sales office opened in August 2004, with initial prices of $360,000, or about $220 a square foot, and have increased to about $600,000. Encore active adult communities are being built in Lake Grove, Long Island in Monroe, N.J., and are planned for Haverstraw, N.Y.

Pulte Homes is marketing a 60-townhouse community in the town of Bayshore on the former site of an industrial building. Later this year, it plans to begin marketing 185 single-family homes in a community in the town of Mount Sinai. On the site of the former Roosevelt Raceway, the Beechwood Organization is building Meadowbrook Pointe, which will have a total of 720 homes, condominium suites, townhouses, and villas. The community will have a 25,000-square-foot clubhouse.

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Hundreds of active adult communities are also planned for New Jersey and Connecticut. In the past five years, developers in New Jersey have applied to build 120 active adult communities. One of the most active developers in New Jersey is K. Hovnanian Enterprises, which builds age-restricted Four Season Communities. The company is building and planning more than 10 communities throughout the state. In Monroe Township, N.J., more than half of the 14,000 residents live in age-restricted communities.

You might wonder why so many active adult communities are under construction. From a developer’s standpoint, it is the path of least resistance in obtaining approval for new homes from municipalities. These projects typically have more units than single-family zoning allows, generate tax revenue, and do not cost the towns more to provide education. One developer told me, “It is the easiest way to get approval from the local bureaucrats for a new community. School boards come out to oppose multi-family zoning because they do not want to drain already overburden school systems.” Residents are reluctant to take on the additional burden of increased taxes to support either a bond issue for new or renovated buildings or the increased annual budget for school services.

Prices for these new homes are rising, and people are eager to get the benefits of the accompanying lifestyle. As the president of the North Florida division of U.S. Homes said, “Our communities are designed for young and healthy active adults in their late 50s and early 60s.They’re not designed for folks who are a little further on.” Along with many others, I predict serious problems will arise 25 years from now for individuals who buy into these communities. First and foremost, I wonder whether these communities and municipalities can handle the health care needs of aging adults. Another problem is how the market will absorb the homes for resale, 20 to 30 years from now, along with the 55-orolder age restriction.

Mr. Stoler is a television broadcaster and vice president at First American Title Insurance Company of New York. He can be reached atmstoler@firstam.com.