Berkadia Seniors Housing & Healthcare proudly presents our new quarterly research product. The Seniors Housing Report Card references community-type data provided by the National Investment Center (NIC Map Vision) to analyze markets with over 1,000 units in the seniors housing, independent living and assisted living segments to support current trends and forecast future trends, at both the national and local market level.
Construction – Seniors housing construction activity continues to decline. With just under 38,000 units underway, the number of units currently being developed has decreased by over 2,500 since the end of 2023. Independent living developers are focused on primary markets, with Austin, Texas being the only secondary market ranked among the top 10 largest pipelines. The trend is also true for assisted living development, with Jacksonville being the lone secondary market ranked among the top 10.
Rent Growth – Average rent growth since the end of 2023 is at 2.1% nationally for seniors housing among all NIC markets, with the additional markets reporting the largest gain at 2.2%, 20 basis points higher than both primary and secondary markets. Overall, 17 markets recorded rent growth greater than 4% among independent and assisted living communities, with markets in the Southeast comprising a majority of that list.
Demand – Seasonality has historically played a role in leasing activity in the seniors housing market with the first quarter being generally the slowest time of year for net absorption. While net leasing was down 42.4% on a quarter-over-quarter basis, the 6,361 net new leases signed during the first three months of 2024 represented a 33% annual increase and was the highest 1Q leasing total in over a decade.
Download the Berkadia Seniors Housing Report Card