Senior housing occupancy (independent living and assisted living combined) held steady at 78.7% in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, despite declining cases of COVID-19 and increasing interest in independent living and assisted living, according to NIC MAPâ¯data released Thursday afternoon.
The culprit largely is the amount of new inventory becoming available, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care.
![](https://www.mcknightsseniorliving.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/NIC-MAP-table-2Q21.png)
“Second-quarter data confirms anecdotes that occupancy at many propertiesâ¯improved as move-ins accelerated,â¯thanks to limited property-levelâ¯COVID-19â¯infections,”â¯NIC Chiefâ¯Economist Beth Burnham Mace said in a statement. “However, inventory grew and outpaced demand, and that’s why we aren’t seeing an occupancy uptick.”â¯
Demandâ¯improvedâ¯in the second quarter, as evidenced by the first positiveâ¯quarterlyâ¯absorption⯗ the number of units leased on a net basis —â¯sinceâ¯the first quarter ofâ¯2020 and the most positive absorption since 2019, according to the data.
Overall, however, both assisted living and independent living propertiesâ¯experiencedâ¯littleâ¯change in occupancy, with independent livingâ¯holdingâ¯steady atâ¯81.8%â¯and assisted living inching up toâ¯75.5%.
Variation by market
A growing number of operators are reporting occupancy increases, however, as a closer look at the data reveals, NIC said.â¯In the second quarter, 47% ofâ¯senior housing propertiesâ¯in the NIC MAP primary markets reported an increase in occupancy. During the height of the pandemic, that number was 22.5%, according to NIC MAP.
But results vary by market.
“Someâ¯areas of the countryâ¯are seeing senior housingâ¯occupancy improve, butâ¯the data show that weâ¯haven’t fully turned the corner,” NIC Chief Operating Officer Chuck Harry said. “Senior housingâ¯occupancy remaining unchanged suggests thatâ¯it will likely takeâ¯moreâ¯time to see broad,â¯nationwide improvementâ¯to the levels prior to the onset of the pandemic.”
A wide gap in performance exists between markets in NIC MAP’sâ¯primary markets. In Atlanta and Detroit, for instance, 55% of propertiesâ¯reported an improvement in overall occupancy. In Chicago, however, only 33% of propertiesâ¯reported occupancy improvement.
San Jose, CA (83.7%), Portland, OR (83.4%) and San Francisco (83.4%)â¯had the highest second-quarter occupancy rates of the 31 metropolitan markets that encompass NIC MAP’s primary markets, data show.â¯The markets seeing the lowest occupancy ratesâ¯in the second quarter includedâ¯Houston (73%), Atlanta (74.8%) and Las Vegas (74.9%).