ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Seniors housing occupancy surpassed 90 percent across a majority of markets in the third quarter of this year, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC).
NIC MAP, the data branch of NIC, reports that national occupancy reached 90.4 percent, up 0.6 percentage points relative to the quarter before, when the national occupancy rate was 89.8 percent.
Of the 31 primary geographic markets tracked by NIC MAP, 16 are now at occupancy levels exceeding 90 percent. Boston, San Francisco and Minneapolis currently boast the highest occupancy levels, at 94, 93.3 and 92.7 percent.
Active adult is seeing the highest occupancy levels of the care types, with national active adult occupancy up to 93.2 percent in the third quarter. Meanwhile, assisted living and independent living saw occupancy rates of 89.1 and 91.7 percent, respectively.
Limited construction activity is contributing to the higher levels of demand for seniors housing. Construction fell by 1 percent in the third quarter, with 16,159 total units in development. Inventory growth remained at 0.4 percent on a year-over-year basis, near “record lows,” according to NIC.