FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, October 10, 2013
Contact: Biba Aidoo, (410) 267-0504 or baidoo@nic.org
Seniors Housing Realized Uptick in Occupancy, Continued Growth in New Construction
Third Quarter NIC MAP® Data Reveals Strong Quarter Despite Slower Rent Growth
The average occupancy rate for seniors housing properties in the third quarter of 2013 was 89.3%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the prior quarter and a 0.5 percentage points increase from the third quarter of 2012. As of the third quarter of 2013, occupancy was 2.4 percentage points above its cyclical low of 86.9% during the first quarter of 2010.
The occupancy rates for independent living properties and assisted living properties averaged 89.4% and 89.1%, respectively, during the third quarter of 2013. When compared to the prior quarter, independent living occupancy increased by 0.2 percentage points, while assisted living occupancy increased by 0.4 percentage points. The occupancy rate for independent living is now 2.6 percentage points above its cyclical low, while the occupancy of assisted living is 2.4 percentage points above its respective cyclical low.
During the third quarter of 2013, seniors housing’s annual asking rent growth slowed to 1.5%, and was 0.7 percentage points below its pace one year earlier during the third quarter of 2012.
“While seniors housing rent growth overall slowed, its slowing was driven primarily by independent living properties. Annual rent growth in independent living properties slowed during the quarter by 40 basis points to 1.1%, while the pace of annual rent growth in assisted living properties was essentially unchanged from the prior quarter at 2.4%,” says Chuck Harry, NIC’s managing director and director of research and analytics.
Seniors housing annual absorption was 1.9% during the third quarter of 2013, compared to 1.8% during the second quarter of 2013 and 2.3% during the third quarter of 2012.
In the third quarter of 2013, the seniors housing annual inventory growth rate was 1.2%, which is near where it has oscillated since the fourth quarter of 2011. Currentconstruction as a share of existing inventory for seniors housing was 3.0%, which is 0.1 percentage points above that of the previous quarter.
The nursing care occupancy rate was 87.6% in the third quarter of 2013, which was unchanged from the second quarter of 2013.
Nursing care annual inventory growth was -0.3% in the third quarter of 2013, continuing the established trend of slightly declining inventory growth. Private pay rents for the sector grew 2.8% year-over-year this quarter, which is similar to the pace of the prior quarter.
About NIC
[TABLE caption=”NICMAP © Seniors Housing & Care Key Metrics for 2013″]
,Seniors Housing[attr colspan=2],Nursing Care[attr colspan=2]
,3Q13,2Q13,3Q13,2Q13
Occupancy (%),89.3,89.0,87.6,87.6
Annual Rent Growth (%),1.5,1.8,2.8,2.9
Annual Absorption (%),1.9,1.8,-0.8,-0.7
Annual Inventory Growth (%),1.2,1.3,-0.3,-0.3
Construction vs. Inventory (%),3.0,2.9,0.7,0.7
[/TABLE]
The National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC) is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to facilitate informed investment in the industry. NIC’s NIC MAP® Data and Analysis Service tracks more than 12,600 properties on a quarterly basis in the 100 largest metropolitan markets. Proceeds from NIC’s national conference and other events are used to fund data and research on issues of importance to lenders, investors, providers, developers, and others interested in meeting the housing and care needs of America’s seniors. For more information, visit www.NIC.org or call (410) 267-0504.