NIC/ASHA 2008 Seniors Housing Construction Trends Report Released

Report Now Shows Construction Activity in the Nation’s Top 100 Markets

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 16, 2008
Contact: Renee Tilton, (410) 626-0805 or rtilton@crosbymarketing.com

Annapolis, Md. – The 2008 edition of the most authoritative report on construction activity in the seniors housing and care industry is now available, as announced today by the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC) and the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA). The 2008 NIC/ASHA Seniors Housing Construction Trends Report shows properties under construction as of March 2008 in the nation’s top 100 metropolitan markets. Product types include senior apartments, independent living, assisted living, memory care, nursing care and continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs).

“This report provides a valuable snapshot of overall seniors housing construction activity based on verified counts,” said Lawrence J. Horan, Ph.D., financial research and analysis director for NIC. “The report summarizes data gathered from a variety of sources, including our NIC Market Area Profiles (NIC MAP®) data and analysis service and from McGraw-Hill Construction, as well as through additional verification at the local level.”

“This year’s report is of particular importance, because it shows the first-ever history of inventory growth of the seniors housing and care industry going back to 1985,” said Robert G. Kramer, president of NIC. “Investors can now accurately gauge the growth of competitive inventory which is critical to development strategies. For example, the data confirms that the greatest period of inventory growth for independent living was in the late 1980s and in the late 1990s for assisted living. In fact, the growth experienced in the last several years in these two sectors pales in comparison.”

The history of inventory growth also charts the strong rise of memory care in the late 1990s. However, the nearly 25% growth rate experienced by this sector in 1998 and 1999 was from a very small sample base. Lastly, the inventory analysis shows the continuing decline in the growth rate of the nursing care sector.

“This year’s report expands the number of metropolitan areas it covers,” said David Schless, president of ASHA. “We are now covering construction in the country’s 100 largest metro markets. According to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, these 100 markets contain approximately 65% of the total United States population, 62% of those ages 65+ and 61% of those 75 and older.”

One of the most popular features of the Construction Trends Report is a year-over-year comparison of construction activity by property type, which is expressed as a percentage of inventory. For example, the independent living sector experienced a decline in construction from 4.6% to 4.4% of inventory. As of March 31, 2008, there were 16,490 independent living units under construction, of which 12,030 were new starts that began in the previous 12 months. And of the 16,490 units under construction, 8,121 were in CCRCs – both rental and entrance fee.

Additionally, the report includes information on the net growth in supply by sector from 2002-07 for the top 10 markets, a summary of construction activity compared to existing supply, a comparison of entrance fee and rental CCRC units under construction, and more. There are also metro market rankings by the number of properties under construction and the number of new units/beds under construction.

The 2008 NIC/ASHA Seniors Housing Construction Trends Report can be purchased for $150. For more information, visit www.NIC.org or www.seniorshousing.org. Or, call NIC at (410) 267-0504 or ASHA at (202) 237-0900.

About NIC

Founded in 1991, the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC) is a nonprofit education and research organization providing information about business strategy and capital formation for the senior living industry. NIC is the leading provider of historical and trend data on the industry through its NIC Key Financial Indicators™ (KFIs) that report nationwide statistics and its NIC Market Area Profiles (NIC MAP®) data and analysis service that tracks properties in the 100 largest metropolitan areas. Proceeds from its annual conference – scheduled next for September 23-25, 2009, in Chicago, IL – are used to fund research on issues of importance to the industry. For more information, visit www.NIC.org or call (410) 267-0504.