FREE SEMINARS, REFRESHMENTS INCLUDED What: The Steller Group, Inc., agents specialized in downsizing moves: listing, selling, improving to increase salability, handling discards, low-maintenance living, purchase rental. Where: Wed., Jan. 28 “Decluttering and Where to Start,” 10 a.m. to noon , Balfour Riverfront Park, 1500 Little Raven St., Denver Where: Wed., Feb 4 “55+ Living Options,” 10 a.m. to noon, Southglenn Library, 6972 S. Vine Street, Centennial Where: Mon., Feb 23 “Selling Strong: Taxes, Trusts and Timing,” 10 a.m. to noon, Belmar Public Library, 555 S. Allison Parkway, Lakewood RSVP: 720-593-9355 Or: DenverSeniorSeminars.com Nobody has spent more time studying when to make a senior downsize move than Bob and Phyllis Gaskill of Highlands Ranch. The couple moved to Colorado 20 years ago to be closer to their daughters, but within five years, were already thinking of selling their big home and opting for a lower-maintenance lifestyle. That was 15 years ago, but the Gaskills are only now carrying that move out. They’re headed for Wind Crest, the prominent senior living community in far-western Highlands Ranch. They made their first visit to Wind Crest’s large campus there more than a decade back, liked what they saw, and put their name on a waiting list, where they kept it updated for years. Bob Gaskill was in his early 70s when they first started imagining the move. He is now 86, and they’re finally taking the plunge. Although the couple is active (they regularly play pickleball) and could still manage their single-family lifestyle, their home went under contract last week, and 44 boxes are packed and ready in the garage. But the availability of low-maintenance community options like Wind Crest is nowhere near what it was a decade ago. The Gaskills’ new 2-bedroom, 2-bath unit waiting at the community is in Dillon Landing, Wind Crest’s final 94-unit building, marking the end of its build-out. Meanwhile, the availability of other communities designed around low-maintenance senior living—with amenities that work for seniors’ social and lifestyle needs—is falling behind the demand from the larger number of prospects entering the market’s age group. “The choices out there are definitely getting scarcer,” says Blair Bryant, Senior Living Specialist with The Steller Group, who handled the Gaskills’ sale. In addition to the real estate side of the move, Steller’s Senior Solutions Division provides a range of services that are tailored to these moves. Services include getting an older home ready to show, including fix-ups; helping with the huge job of decluttering and downsizing; staging the home to show well; and carrying out a single move without added steps. Steller also tracks what and where the availabilities are now. “New communities are still being built in the Denver area that cater to seniors, but the shortage has become a national issue, and you definitely need to get serious about looking ahead of time,” Bryant adds. The Gaskills met Bryant at one of the free seminars that Steller offers around the Denver area, exploring downsizing and other preparation topics. (There is one set for Jan. 28 at Balfour Riverfront Park, a community in Lower Downtown (LoDo), and others are set for Feb. 4 in Southglenn and Feb. 23 in Belmar). The Gaskills, who met in college and shared careers together at the National Security Agency in Washington, recall now that they had friends around D.C. who were moving to senior lifestyle places decades ago, when they first retired. As they’ve waited for the right moment to move here in Colorado, they’ve watched as a number of their friends moved to Wind Crest — and they estimate they already know 30 or 40 people there. “We used to entertain a lot, but I’m not interested in that now,” Phyllis said. Bob adds that taking care of their large home in Highlands Ranch’s Backcountry neighborhood was plenty of work, and they’re ready to give that up. What the pair does want to continue doing is travel (they spent part of their careers in England and have visited 60 countries) and sing in their choir. That’s a great match with communities like Wind Crest, with a lock-n-leave lifestyle, along with pickleball courts, two choral groups, and lots of specialty clubs, including an astronomy group that is getting an observatory built in the community. There are new communities coming online (Steller is featuring some of those as locations for its upcoming free seminars) that will offer many of the same advantages found in sought-after communities. But Steller’s Bryant underscores that the opportunities are nowhere near as wide, proportionally, as when the Gaskills began their search more than a decade ago. Steller experts add another cautionary note, one they’ve documented from years of handling these senior moves: there is a danger of waiting too long, and of losing control of a move due to unexpected events. “All moves become much more difficult when people don’t have time to plan for them,” says Conrad Steller, Broker/Owner of The Steller Group. “Without the time to plan, you lose control over the when-and-where aspects that are very important to people at this age.” Having attended Steller’s seminars, the Gaskills were well prepared for the transition when they brought their home to market. They had spent months decluttering and deciding what to take along on the move to their sizeable, but still smaller, apartment. Phyllis Gaskill noted that although the 44 boxes are packed, she is still having some second thoughts about ones that might be discarded before the moving van arrives. “They’re things you’ll just never need,” she says. Downsizing is just one topic covered in three seminars set for the end of January through February. Also on the schedule is one covering senior living options, including a look at new communities available as the availability of those grows tighter; and another on taxes, trusts and timing, key elements of getting the best value when you sell. Related ArticlesJanuary 16, 2026 Sponsored: 2025 ends with buyers in charge as Colorado’s housing market stabilizes January 9, 2026 Sponsored: Stubborn mortgage rates trap Denver market in limbo for third straight year January 2, 2026 Sponsored: When will home sales recover? Experts predict 14% surge in 2026 December 26, 2025 Sponsored: The great color comeback: Why homebuyers are ditching neutrals December 19, 2025 Sponsored: Colorado housing market experiences sluggish sales amid holiday slowdown Steller Senior Living Specialists will also weigh in on the market this spring, including the importance of having your home looking sharp and project-free when it goes on the market for sale. Steller has contractors available to move quickly, if essential tasks are required. You can get a full briefing on how to prepare for those contingencies, including at the seminar on Jan. 28 at Balfour Riverfront Park, a new community in Denver’s Riverfront neighborhood near LoDo. For details on upcoming seminars see the box above, or visit DenverSeniorSeminars.com The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this post’s preparation. ...read more read less