What effect is the housing slowdown having on senior housing?
The current home resale market is shaping up to be what I hope is the worst downturn that we will ever see in our lifetimes. This is of course from the perspective of sellers – I’d love to be in a position to buy right now. Home prices in most areas have fallen significantly over the past couple of years.
Unfortunately for senior housing operators, most of their potential new residents have a home they want to sell before making the move. This is making the jobs of marketing staff much more difficult. Maxfield Research is hearing that seniors are still expressing interest in moving to senior housing buy are delaying the decision to move until the housing market improves. Many seniors aren’t even trying to list their home for sale. The impact is being felt on all service levels, including the more need driven types like assisted living, but the greatest impact is on independent housing.
The good news is that our surveys find that most senior housing buildings are still operating at stabilized occupancy or close to it. The difference from previous years is that waiting lists have shrunk and more people on the lists are not in a position to move. Again, this is making the jobs of marketing staff more difficult.
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