As NIC MAP® Data Service clients know, NIC regularly adds new features to the client platform, often as a direct response to client requests, or as new data and analytical tools become available. NIC works hard to ensure developers, operators, investors, and other stakeholders, have access to the high-quality data they need from the best available time series market data to the latest market preference indicators.
In the latest upgrade, NIC added Walk Score to NIC MAP, providing a measure of “walkability” for individual properties in the national database. The scores, which range from zero to 100—with higher scores indicating greater walkability—can help users easily compare walkability at different seniors housing properties. The new data can easily be incorporated into analyses, as NIC clients assess the impact of this emerging trend on marketability and financial performance.
Recent research and consumer trends are indicating that the seniors housing of the future will not necessarily be located primarily in suburban and rural areas. Several studies underscore the emerging consumer desire for walkable living, including a 2017 Welltower survey, which found that 7 out of 10 urbanites still want to live in their city after the age of 80. For Baby Boomers, the share was higher, at 8 out of 10. And, according to a recent survey conducted by A Place for Mom, between 80 and 90 percent of consumers in independent living properties and senior apartments, and 66 percent of residents in assisted living, prefer walkable neighborhoods.
The integration of Walk Score into NIC MAP provides walkability measures at the property-level to facilitate development and investment decisions that reflect the lifestyle and location preferences of many seniors and their family members. With a segment of the present and future seniors housing residents preferring walkable neighborhoods, integrating Walk Scores into NIC MAP can help inform development locations and ensure seniors have choice in locations, including those that are highly walkable.
NIC MAP clients can log in and view a video tutorial for more information. To learn more about NIC MAP, and get the latest on what the platform has to offer, prospective clients are encouraged to reach out to Sales at sales@nic.org.