senior housing

As I talk with both senior living and multi-family developers, there is a big focus and many questions relating to “active adult” or “age-restricted’ apartments.  It makes sense for many reasons, but the average age of entry stands out the most.  Today the average age at which a person moves into traditional senior housing is 85, with an average length of stay just over six years.

The move-in age for active adult communities is in the low to mid-70's.  The oldest members of the baby boomer generation, those born in 1946, are just now turning 74.  This creates a true opportunity to capture a younger senior demographic ten years earlier than traditional senior living facilities.

Boomers considering active adult communities prefer renting over owning to provide them with economic and logistical flexibility.  They are attracted by a sense of community and are healthy enough to not need traditional care-based senior housing.  At...

One thing was clear at the National Investment Center for Senior Housing (NIC) fall conference that was held recently in Chicago.  The interest in senior housing continues to grow.  With more than 3,300 attendees at NIC, it was a whirlwind of activity meeting with developers, operators, equity providers and lenders, all who are optimistic about the future for new development in senior housing.

There seems to be no limit to the private equity that is available to experienced developers who along with their operating partners have a solid track record.  Private equity funds that target the senior housing sector raised more money in 2018 than at any time before, with more than $15 Billion raised.  This is up from the previous record of $10.8 Billion raised in 2015.

This high level of interest in senior housing can be supported by the fact that the number of Americans age 65 and above is...