Close up image of a caretaker helping older woman walk

The occupancy rate for nursing care properties fell to 86.5% in the second quarter of 2017, down .7% from the first quarter, the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care reported Wednesday.

The second quarter occupancy rate is similar to the rate of 86.8% rate at the end of 2016, which NIC reported at the time to be at “lowest level since at least 2005.”

The nursing care annual inventory growth rate was 0.1% in the second quarter, compared to 0% at the start of the year. Annual absorption was down -0.6% in the second quarter, while annual rent growth decreased slightly from 2.7% in the first quarter to 2.6%. Construction vs. inventory rates held steady in the second quarter at 0.7%, NIC found.

NIC’s second quarter report also showed that assisted living occupancy rates fell to 86.5%, despite a record-setting annual absorption of 3%. That occupancy rate matches the sector’s lowest rate, previously hit in the second quarter of 2009.