New service maps trends in the senior housing market

Nursing Homes, Nov, 2004 by Douglas J. Edwards

The new MAP Monitor[TM] from the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industries (NIC) analyzes quarterly key trends and findings in senior housing across the nation's top 30 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs)--and, for its inaugural issue, has already come up with some key findings:

* Preliminary evidence suggests that markets with higher total unit penetration rates do indeed have lower occupancies.

* Supply growth has slowed across senior housing property types (although not proportionately in each sector); overall industry growth was at an annual compound rate of 7.3% from 1978 to 1993, 2.8% from 1994 to 2001, and 1.5% in 2002 and 2003.

* The median age of all properties in the top 30 MSAs is 19 years; only assisted living with dementia and/or nursing care (seven years) and freestanding dementia care (six years) have median ages less than 10 years.

* Studios represent 25% of all independent units.

* The stabilized median occupancy for assisted living was 92.3% in the first quarter of 2004.

* There is a difference of about $700 in monthly revenue between assisted living ($2,670) and independent living ($1,984) across the 30 MSAs.

* Dedicated dementia units comprise 17% of total assisted living units, or 15% of the total of assisted living and dementia combined.

* Nursing facilities represent 60% of all units in the top 30 MSAs.

* Nonprofits represent 30% of all seniors housing and care units, 41% of independent living units, 23% of assisted living units, 16% of dementia units, and 29% of nursing units.

For more information about the MAP data and analysis service, contact NIC Research Director Anthony J. Mullen at (610) 853-9801 or tmullen@nic.org.