Seniors For Living

Released in January by SeniorHousingNews.com, the top 10 senior housing trends for 2011 included the following: campus extensions and the addition of on-site home health care services; a focus on/return to “keeping it local”; changes in architecture & design (small housing clusters, prefab housing, downsizing, etc.); integration of technology in senior homes and senior living communities; and changes due to health care reform/entitlement programs.

Also, senior housing REITs (real estate investment trusts) have done well despite the rest of the stock market’s rather disappointing performance over the past few years, constraints on lending and mortgage interest deductions continue to impact home prices/the housing market, and the finance & capital markets have also seen their share of change given recent financial reforms.

Finally, senior housing analysts and experts predicted emergence of the 3 R’s – rehab, renovate and repurpose, along with a price jump for independent living, assisted living, and nursing care as a result of decreased supply/increased demand.

Now that we’re halfway through 2011, it appears that most of these predicted trends are accurate. And, as the economy is still not what you might call stable, we’re likely to see a similar report for the balance of the year and into the next, particularly when it comes to rising costs and a move towards those cost-saving 3 R’s: rehab, renovate and repurpose, which is perhaps what the whole industry will be doing in the coming years.

- Michelle Seitzer