From The Magazine

Active Adult Faces Major ‘Stress Test’

by Jeff Shaw February 9, 2021

Despite increased competition and delays in construction and lease-up due to COVID-19, developers remain bullish on the sector. By Jeff Shaw The relatively new segment of rental active adult housing has many developers interested, but hesitant. The sector targets baby boomers in early retirement who are often looking to downsize from their homes but are still years away from needing independent living or assisted living services. The concept is to offer relaxing, maintenance-free living to empty nesters who still lead active lives. It differs from independent living in that it …

February 9, 2021

Acquisitions From The Magazine Investment

Pandemic Shakes Up Acquisitions Landscape

by Jeff Shaw February 9, 2021

REITs sell off portfolios while other investors pursue distressed assets amid record-low occupancy. By Jeff Shaw When the COVID-19 outbreak hit the U.S. with full force last March, investors in the seniors housing sector had some difficult decisions to make. With the occupancy rate at private-pay seniors housing falling to a record-low 80.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, the question that quickly arose in the marketplace was whether it was better to sell off properties, buy assets …

February 9, 2021

Finance From The Magazine

COVID-19 Disruptions Negatively Impact Valuations

by Jeff Shaw February 9, 2021

By Matt Valley Property valuations have decreased 5 to 10 percent overall across the seniors housing industry due to the operational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s the expert opinion of Imran Javaid, managing director of BMO Harris Bank, who says the percentage decline can vary depending on the age of the facility, the operator and the specific asset class. The respiratory virus, which as of Jan. 24 had claimed the lives of more than 417,000 people in the U.S. and ravaged a large swath of the economy, initially …

February 9, 2021

Development From The Magazine

Architects’ Inventiveness on Display

by Jeff Shaw November 23, 2020

Building designers consider urban integration, sustainable features and even build in vacant parking lots to reflect the future trends of seniors housing. By Jeff Shaw As the seniors housing industry matures in all facets, architects are on the front lines of that evolution. After all, they are the ones who design the future properties before a single shovel hits the ground. We’ve heard for years about the possible incoming changes. Demand for urban locations will increase as baby boomers will want to live near the hustle and bustle of downtown …

November 23, 2020

From The Magazine Operations People

The Labor Puzzle

by Jeff Shaw November 23, 2020

Operators piece together creative solutions to one of the industry’s toughest problems — recruiting and retaining quality employees. By Jeff Shaw Recruiting and retaining quality employees on the front lines remains one of the biggest challenges facing the seniors housing industry today. Argentum estimates the senior living industry will need to fill 1.4 million positions by 2025. The employment landscape in the United States has drastically changed since early this year. The unemployment rate rose 440 basis points to 7.9 percent between September 2019 and September 2020, according to the …

November 23, 2020

Finance From The Magazine

Low Interest Rates Lift Fortunes of HUD Lenders

by Jeff Shaw November 23, 2020

Deal volume in FY 2020 reached $4.3 billion, up 17 percent from the previous year. By Matt Valley Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, lenders in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 232 healthcare mortgage insurance program closed $4.38 billion in loans during fiscal year (FY) 2020, a 17 percent increase from $3.73 billion the prior year. The number of transactions completed climbed from 288 to 323, a 12 percent increase, and the average mortgage amount ticked up from $12.9 million to $13.5 million. HUD’s fiscal year runs from …

November 23, 2020

Development From The Magazine

How to Adapt for COVID-19

by Jeff Shaw October 1, 2020

Interior designers in the seniors housing sector place greater emphasis on antimicrobial materials, socially distant layouts and outdoor spaces. By Kristin Hiller Interior designers within the senior living space say they’ve always considered health and wellness as an integral part of their work. But today — amid the coronavirus pandemic and the vulnerability of seniors — safety and infection prevention is at the forefront of design decisions. Karla Jackson, principal and design director with Austin, Texas-based StudioSix5, says that COVID-19 is now a long-term design consideration for her company. “All …

October 1, 2020

From The Magazine

The Elephant in the Room

by Jeff Shaw October 1, 2020

Seniors housing branding needs to answer an uncomfortable, but obvious, question: Will my parents be safe here? By Lynn Peisner Senior living has been weathering a public relations fiasco since March. Media portrayals of senior communities as hotbeds of coronavirus infections played a role in ceasing move-ins as the general public has presumed that the “nursing home” presented in news reports is synonymous with all levels of seniors housing. Marketing and branding experts, along with owners and operators, are working hard to turn that around. “All senior living got lumped …

October 1, 2020

Acquisitions Finance From The Magazine

COVID-19 Disruption Takes a Toll on Property Sales

by Jeff Shaw October 1, 2020

By Matt Valley Make no mistake about it, transaction volume in the seniors housing investment sales market has been significantly hampered by COVID-19, the respiratory disease linked to 197,000 deaths nationally as of Sept. 17. Year-to-date through July, property and portfolio sales in the seniors housing and care sector totaled just under $5.3 billion, down 52 percent from nearly $10.8 billion during the same period a year ago, according to Real Capital Analytics (RCA). The number of properties that traded over that same period fell from 703 in 2019 to …

October 1, 2020

Development From The Magazine

The Adaptive Reuse Gamble

by Jeff Shaw July 20, 2020

Despite the significant challenges of converting old buildings into seniors housing, developers roll the dice and build a more inviting product. By Jeff Shaw Because of the special needs of the sector, seniors housing developers nearly always say they prefer ground-up development rather than redevelopment projects. It allows them to build a property exactly how they want in order to meet the needs of modern seniors. But sometimes an opportunity presents itself to convert an old building into something new, often restoring a historic property to new glory. Because of …

July 20, 2020

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