The seniors housing occupancy rate is still seeing a slight recovery in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, although rent growth and construction activity has dipped, new data shows.

The recovery for the sector is “slow but steady,” said Michael Hargrave, vice president of NIC MAP, the data analysis service of the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry

The assisted living occupancy rate in the first quarter averaged 88.6%, an increase of 0.2%, according to NIC MAP. The occupancy rate for skilled nursing facilities was unchanged from the previous quarter — at 88.2% — in the first quarter of fiscal 2012. Private pay rents for SNFs grew 3%, which was a slight decline over the fourth quarter. 

Click here for local NIC MAP data in seniors housing.