From The Magazine

From The MagazineOperations

Nonprofits Unite

by Jeff Shaw

The pandemic has proven that scale matters as the big not-for-profit providers get bigger and follow through on expansion plans. By Jane Adler Like their for-profit counterparts, nonprofit senior living providers face many of the same pandemic-related market dynamics. Consolidation is accelerating amid losses at troubled properties. The labor shortage is a big challenge. Communities are slowly starting to recover as occupancies inch upward. And inexpensive capital is still available, at least for the big providers whose expansion plans are moving forward.  “We’re growing,” says Terri Cunliffe, president and CEO …

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FinanceFrom The Magazine

HUD Lending Program Shows Its True Mettle

by Jeff Shaw

Deal volume of nearly $4 billion in FY 2021 helped fill void during pandemic. By Matt Valley Amid an extremely challenging operating environment for the seniors housing industry and a difficult underwriting situation for lenders due to the pandemic, one source of debt financing has stood tall. Lenders in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 232 healthcare mortgage insurance program used to finance nursing homes, assisted living and board and care facilities closed $3.94 billion in loans in fiscal year (FY) 2021, which ended Sept. 30. Total …

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From The MagazineOperationsPeople

Labor Pains

by Jeff Shaw

Senior living communities grapple with a severe worker shortage, responding with innovative approaches and programs. By Jane Adler “Help Wanted!” “Now Hiring!” The urgent signs posted everywhere from grocery stores to job boards reveal the depth of the labor shortage gripping the country. Workers are scarce. But senior living and care is being especially hard hit.  Long known for having a high turnover rate, the sector faces a number of new challenges. Workers in a healthcare-type setting are afraid of contracting COVID-19. The Delta variant of the virus has only …

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DevelopmentFrom The MagazinePeople

Worker, Supply Shortages Hit Builders

by Jeff Shaw

General contractors continue to innovate and complete projects despite COVID-caused headwinds. By Jeff Shaw We’re all familiar with the headlines by now: construction materials prices are at record highs, and nearly every industry has a shortage of workers, dealing a one-two punch to supply chains. General contractors may be on the front line of both problems as they deal directly with the rising materials costs while trying to build seniors housing communities with skeleton crews. According to Des Moines, Iowa-based general contractor Weitz, lumber prices have at least come back …

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From The MagazineTechnology

Senior Technology With Staying Power

by Jeff Shaw

Emerging out of the pandemic are some unique tech tools that have become part of everyday life at many senior living communities. By Eric Taub It’s often said that seniors and technology don’t mix. Whether it’s remembering how to use a television remote, send a text message on a smart phone or stream a Netflix video, the conventional wisdom has long been that the elderly frequently find those types of tasks to be a challenge. Seniors often forget the skills they learn, and which younger people master and take for …

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Active AdultFrom The MagazineInvestment

Why So Many Investors Are Chasing Active Adult

by Jeff Shaw

Favorable demographic trends and the sector’s strong performance during the pandemic have helped attract capital, says InterFace panel. By Matt Valley Aron Will refers to active adult as the “chameleon asset class” because it exhibits characteristics of both the multifamily and seniors housing sectors. “Quite frankly, there are more characteristics of seniors housing than people give it credit for,” said the vice chairman and co-head of National Senior Housing for CBRE. But from an investment sales standpoint, many buyers and sellers view the sector through a prism that is either …

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Affordable HousingDevelopmentFrom The Magazine

Not Your Grandpa’s Affordable Housing

by Jeff Shaw

Newer senior living developments feature environmental sustainability, amenities and services far beyond the residences of the past. By Jeff Shaw The development strategy for affordable seniors housing of the past seemed to have one overarching goal: Don’t spend too much. Generally, the apartments were simply typical affordable housing units with age restrictions for residents, built as cheaply as possible to counteract the lower rents. That’s not the case anymore. Affordable seniors housing today features a host of amenities and services on site, and a strong focus on environmental sustainability.  “Prior …

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From The MagazineInvestment

REITs Take Differing Paths

by Jeff Shaw

Strategies of the industry’s biggest publicly traded owners range from billion-dollar purchases to exiting seniors housing altogether. By Jeff Shaw Publicly traded seniors housing REITs have experienced a roller coaster ride over the past 18 months. Stock prices soared in early 2020, then crashed in March 2020 as the pandemic began. Occupancy rates hit record lows and are just now showing signs of recovery. It has been a volatile period of highs and lows. As an example, Welltower (NYSE: WELL), the largest owner of seniors housing in the United States, …

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From The MagazineInvestment

Company Profile: CareTrust Finds Its ‘Secret Sauce’

by Jeff Shaw

With operational history in its front office, the publicly traded REIT is succeeding where others have feared to tread — skilled nursing. By Jeff Shaw The skilled nursing sector faces some unique headwinds. As the most healthcare-heavy form of seniors housing, nursing homes require intense specialization on the part of operators. The falling occupancy rates stemming from COVID-19 have put enormous strain on operator’s net operating income.  NIC data shows skilled nursing hit an all-time low of 70.7 percent in January, compared with 80.7 percent for independent living and assisted …

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CCRCFrom The Magazine

CCRCs Learn to Adapt, Thrive

by Jeff Shaw

Life plan communities outperform other types of seniors housing amid the pandemic due to an increased focus on choice and long-term residents. By Jeff Shaw The 2008 housing market crash, also known as the Great Recession or Global Financial Crisis, hit one segment of seniors housing particularly hard: continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). The CCRC, or life plan community, concept is a campus with a full continuum of care — from independent living through skilled nursing — where residents can continue to live at the community as their acuity increases. …

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