Amid inventory slowdowns in the wake of the pandemic, senior living occupancy has continued its recovery, according to NIC MAP Vision.
Stabilized occupancy — which NIC Analytics defines buildings at least two years old or buildings that have reached at least 95% occupancy since opening — in senior housing increased to 84.3% in February. That’s up 0.2 percentage points from January, according to a blog by Omar Zahraoui, principal of research and analytics at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care.
From its pandemic record low of 80.3% in June 2021, senior living — assisted and independent living — occupancy increased by 4 percentage points. But it remained 5.1 percentage points below it pre-pandemic March 2020 high of 89.4%, according to intra-quarterly NIC MAP data released Thursday.
Breaking it down, independent living properties inched up 0.1 percentage points in occupancy from January but remained 5 percentage points below pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, assisted living occupancy was up 0.2 percentage points to 82.2% from January but still 5 percentage points below pre-pandemic levels. Assisted living recovered occupancy faster than independent living despite the relatively large inventory growth since the onset of the pandemic. From its pandemic low, occupancy in assisted living increased 5.5 percentage points — twice that of independent living, which was up 2.7 percentage points since June 2021.
Inventory growth in senior living continued to be slow compared with pre-pandemic levels.
From March 2020 to February 2023, inventory of assisted living and independent living in NIC MAP primary markets increased by 7.4% and 5.6%, respectively.
Metropolitan market occupancy mirrors national trends
Stabilized occupancy rates increased or remained stable in 24 of the 31 NIC MAP primary markets in February compared with January.
In assisted living markets, Boston had the second highest occupancy rate at 86%, up 0.4 percentage points from January and 8.8 percentage points higher than pandemic lows. But it’s still 3.1 percentage points below March 2020 occupancy levels.
Cleveland’s assisted living occupancy rate stood at 78.2% in February, up 0.3 percentage points from January. The city has the second lowest occupancy rate for assisted living in NIC MAP’s 31 primary markets.
Independent living occupancy rates increased or remained stable in 20 of NIC MAP primary markets compared with January.
Boston ranked first among the 31 NIC MAP primary markets for independent living, with an occupancy rate of 89.8%. That is up 0.2 percentage points from January and 7.1 percentage points from its pandemic record low but remains 2.3 percentage points below March 2020 levels. The independent living market in Boston recovered 5.2 percentage points from its pandemic low and is within 1.5 percentage points of reaching full recovery to pre-pandemic occupancy levels.
On the other end of the spectrum, Orlando, FL, occupancy in independent living improved by 0.2 percentage points from January. But at 79.2%, it still ranks at the bottom of the primary market and remains the only market with an average occupancy rate below 80%.
