# Longevity changes the design: high-end real estate bets on homes to live in from 40 to 90

Wider doors, step-free bathrooms and flexible rooms are now part of the design from the start, for buyers who want to stay at the same address for decades.

- Section: Real Estate
- Published: October 30, 2026
- Address: https://ceoone.com.br/en/article/longevity-changes-the-design-high-end-real-estate-bets-on-homes-to-live
- Em português: https://ceoone.com.br/artigo/longevidade-muda-o-projeto-alto-padrao-aposta-em-imoveis-para-morar-do.md

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## Key points

- According to IBGE's 2025 PNAD Contínua survey, people aged 60 or over now make up 16.6% of Brazil's population, up from 11.3% in 2012.
- High-end homes are being designed with wider doors, step-free bathrooms, walls ready for grab bars and flexible floor plans.
- For the partners at Tauf Empreendimentos, these choices cost little during construction; made later, they take months of renovation.

Brazilians are living longer, and this is starting to change the way high-end homes are designed. Wider doors, step-free bathrooms, flexible floor plans and proximity to health services are no longer hurried adaptations; they are part of the design from the start. The logic is simple: whoever buys a property today wants it to stay comfortable 20 or 30 years from now.

The background is demographic. According to the 2025 PNAD Contínua survey, released by IBGE in April 2026, people aged 60 or over now make up 16.6% of Brazil's population, compared with 11.3% in 2012. The South is among the oldest regions, with 18.1% of its residents aged 60 or over. The trend is set to accelerate. IBGE's population projections indicate that this share could reach around 37.8% in 2070, when life expectancy at birth is expected to reach 83.9 years.

## Why has longevity entered the design?

Living longer means spending more time at home, and more years at the same address. IBGE's Life Tables, released in November 2025, show that life expectancy in Brazil has reached 76.6 years, and that someone who turns 80 still has, on average, 9.5 more years ahead in the case of women and 8.3 in the case of men.

Who lives in these homes has also changed. The same study shows that, among women who live alone, 56.5% are 60 or older. For this group, autonomy and safety at home weigh on the choice of property. "The high-end buyer no longer thinks only about the present. They ask themselves whether they will be able to live there comfortably at 70 or 80, or whether the property will force them to move. A design that answers that question is worth more," says Leonardo Stollmeier, partner at Tauf Empreendimentos, a developer operating on the northern coast of Santa Catarina.

## What changes in practice?

The difference lies in decisions made while the plans are still on paper. "Planning a wider door or reinforcing the bathroom wall costs little during construction. Doing it afterwards means breaking things, dust and months of renovation," explains Matheus Tafner, also a partner at the developer. These decisions include:

wider doors and corridors, allowing movement with a wheelchair or walker without building work;

bathrooms with level-access showers and walls ready to take grab bars when needed;

non-slip floors and lighting that helps prevent falls, especially at night;

flexible floor plans, with a room that can become a suite, a study or a bedroom for a carer;

lift access to every area, with no steps along the way;

a location close to health services, shops and places to walk.

## Does an accessible home have to look like a home for the elderly?

No, and this is the main turning point. The concept of universal design calls for spaces that work for any age, without looking adapted. "Nobody wants a house that looks like a clinic. Well-designed accessibility doesn't show. The resident just notices that everything is easy to use, today and 30 years from now," says Leonardo Stollmeier, partner at Tauf.

For Stollmeier, the change also serves other stages of life. "A wide door works for a pram as well as for a wheelchair. When the design takes longevity into account, it ends up being better for the whole family, and that protects the value of the property," he says.

With more years of active life ahead, these criteria are likely to stop being a differentiator and become a requirement for high-end buyers. For Leonardo, it is a change of mindset. "Before, buyers chose a property for the stage of life they were in. Today, they want a place that keeps up with every stage still to come," he says.

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