Senior Housing / Communities Jobs

Senior Housing is a complex industry where property types are distinguished by the level of services provided. Independent Living Facilities (ILF) are the least service
-intensive, providing no services beyond community activities. Congregate Care is a subsector of ILF, which does provide some assistance with daily activities, shared meals, and a full time staff. Assisted Living Facilities (ALF) go beyond ILF to provide personal care for daily living needs and minimal medical services such as reminders to take medicine. Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) and Memory Care Facilities Most facilities provide full service including medical. SNF have 24-hour medical care administered by registered nurses supervised by physicians. Most properties lease rooms by the month and costs of occupancy vary by which services the resident elects to receive. Such is the case with Assisted Living Facilities and Skilled Nursing Facilities. ALF rents range from $800-$4000 per month and the national average is $3,031. SNF typically charge by the day with average daily rates of $191 or $69,715 annually. ILF and Congregate Care units can be purchased or rented. Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs subsidize senior housing costs for many residents in SNF. Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) incorporate every stage of care from ILF to SNF in one development and residents can move between levels depending on their health and services needed. Most senior housing developments are valued on a per bed basis. According to Marcus & Millichap, in mid-2008, the median price per bed for Assisted Living was just under $150k, for Independent Living just over $100k, and for Skilled Nursing just under $50k. The number of beds can range from 25 to over 300.

Information on this page provided courtesy of Cornell University Program in Real Estate
Information Provided by Cornell University

Professional Reading and Resources

  • "Urban Land"by ULI
  • "Journal of Housing for the Elderly"
  • "SeniorJournal"
  • "NREI Senior Housing Finance and Development Trends newsletter"
  • "Senior Housing News"

Industry Segments

  • Independent Living Facility:
    Any 55+ age restricted community, Senior Apartments, Retirement communities, Congregate Housing
  • Assisted Living Facility
  • Alzheimer Care/Memory Care Facilities
  • Skilling Nursing Facility
  • Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC):
    Incorporates all levels of care

    *Ordered by increasing level of care

Looking to the Future

The retiring baby boomer generation has been pushing growth within the Senior Housing Industry for several years. However, the recent housing crisis and increasing supply have caused occupancy levels to begin to level off or decrease. Homeowners who originally planned to sell their home and transition to Assisted Living now may chose to wait until home prices stabilize before selling. Also, tighter budgets at the state and federal level have decreased the amount of funding, reimbursements, and subsidies provided to senior housing, which also hurts revenues. Moving forward, senior housing will continue to grow in demand as the US population ages. To be successful, senior housing providers will have to adapt to meet the needs of changing demographic profiles, whether it means scaling back services to meet lower budgets in the affordable market or offering more amenities and lifestyle options to the upper scale market.

Top Senior Housing / Communities Companies

  • Erickson Retirement Communities
  • Del Webb
  • Sunrise Senior Living
  • Emeritus Senior Living
  • Brookdale Senior Living

Top Markets

  • California
  • Texas
  • Florida
  • Illinois
  • North Carolina
  • Georgia
  • Washington
  • Oregon

*States with 1,000 to 2000+ units under construction Source: Marcus & Millichap. "Senior Housing Research Report." Second Half 2008

Sector Quick Facts

Source: NAREIT www.reit.com "Annual Index Values & Returns, 1972-2008"

From the SelectLeaders/Cornell Job Barometer, Fall 2008


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