Senior housing was making headlines in 2014 for all the right reasons. With the retiring Baby Boomer generation flocking en masse to these senior communities, the year saw a market climate that was highly favorable to both buyers and sellers.
According to a January 3 Senior Housing News article, interest rates for both assisted and independent senior living communities fell to all-time lows in 2014, which was good news for the owners of these communities. Lower interest rates allowed them to diversify their assets, offering a wider variety of unique living solutions for their residents.
On the buyers’ end of the market, rising housing prices gave many seniors a good reason to finally sell their homes and make the transition into a retirement community, according to the Wall Street Journal. Even better was the fact that not one type of senior living was more popular than the others — assisted living, independent living, memory care and skilled nursing all saw healthy demand and robust development throughout last year, Senior Housing News reports.
But will these trends that helped bolster a healthy senior living market in 2014 continue as 2015 gets off to a start?
According to Senior Housing News, dramatic changes in interest rates could cause red flags to pop up in the market — but there’s no telling if this will actually happen.
Another thing senior communities will need to keep in mind this year is the age of their buildings. As time goes on, senior housing must be maintained and upgraded to keep these communities in livable condition and to keep residents from moving elsewhere.
If these potential complications are kept in mind, 2015 will more than likely be another year of stellar growth for the senior housing market.