Nursing homes’ private pay rents increased in the fourth quarter of 2013, but independent living rents showed the biggest uptick in the seniors housing sector, according to data from the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry.
In the nursing care sector, private pay rates increased 2.9% from 2012 levels, NIC reported in quarterly figures released Friday. Occupancy increased from 87.6% in the third quarter to 87.9%.
For seniors housing as a whole, rent growth remained stable during the quarter, noted Chuck Harry, NIC managing director and director of research and analytics. Independent living led the pack, while assisted living was a laggard.
“Annual rent growth in independent living properties accelerated by 20 basis points, while the pace of annual rent growth in assisted living properties slowed by 30 basis points,” said Harry.
Fourth quarter occupancy for seniors housing properties reached 89.7%, up slightly from the third quarter and 2.8 percentage points above a cyclical low recorded during the first quarter of 2010.
Construction activity slowed, with a “modest decline” in starts, but it is too soon to tell whether this indicates a trend or a “one-quarter aberration,” Harry said.
Harry will be a featured presenter at the 2014 McKnight’s Online Expo. He will discuss where operators are finding capital, in a webinar on March 27, at 11 a.m. Eastern. More information about registration and continuing education credits soon will be available at www.mcknights.com.
