Features

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The occupancy rate for private-pay seniors housing rose 80 basis points to 84.4 percent in the second quarter of 2023, according to data from NIC MAP Vision. It’s the ninth consecutive quarterly increase in occupancy as the industry continues to recover from impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The occupancy figure marks an increase of 660 basis points from the pandemic low of 77.8 percent in second-quarter 2021, but still short of the pre-pandemic mark of 87.1 percent in first-quarter 2020. NIC MAP Vision is a product of …

CHICAGO — Headwinds and tailwinds are driving the senior living business in a new direction. Owners and operators are bullish on the long-term prospects for the industry, but they still grapple with the aftereffects of a punishing pandemic and the struggle to regain healthy operating margins. Demand is strong and expected to only improve as baby boomers age. However, expenses, including wages, continue to rise. Rents are higher, but so are interest rates, compressing valuations. On the plus side, innovative technology and new revenue streams could help boost profit margins.  …

CHICAGO and ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Older adults have heightened vulnerability to illness and impaired mobility prior to, and just after, entering a seniors housing and care property, new research shows, but frailty levels then quickly plateau and ultimately decline. The research was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, funded through a grant from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), an Annapolis-based data firm serving the seniors housing industry. In a review of Medicare claims of residents from 14,201 senior living properties and using a …

As seniors housing operators look back on the past 18 months, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have largely faded. Occupancy has been on an upward trend for many consecutive quarters, labor markets have become more stable and profit margins are getting larger. While the industry isn’t fully back to where it was in 2019, the outlook for operators is much sunnier than it was in mid-2020. But new challenges have arrived in the form of capital markets disruption, which has impacted the ability to buy, sell, borrow, lend or …

ATLANTA — Today’s seniors housing market is a tough one, characterized by an inflationary environment and high operational costs. Amid the challenges the industry currently faces, owner-operators within the sector must focus on controlling expenses, such as labor and insurance, to maintain profitability — and earlier is better when it comes to planning to mitigate these expenses. Eric Mendelsohn, CEO and president of National Health Investors, a REIT that specializes in seniors housing, emphasized the importance of labor market analysis in the underwriting stage of operations. “Labor is a key …