Providing quality care has been a key element in an unprecedented wave of growth for the seniors housing industry, according to the 2007 Dealmaker’s Handbook, an annual assessment published by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News in partnership with the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry.

“The tide has never been higher for the seniors housing and care industry,” says writer John Andrews in the Handbook’s article “A Wave Like No Other.” The fourth quarter of 2006 was the best quarter the industry has had since the NIC started tracking indicators in the late ‘90s. Loan volume placed during the first quarter of 2007 was $228 billion, a 172 % increase form the first quarter 2006, at $838 million. Median occupancies for seniors housing in major metropolitan areas are consistently between 94 and 97 %, supply growth is balanced, demand is growing steadily and revenue growth is strong. The publication says that the most commonly cited reason for the industry’s robust financial health is a sharp improvement in resident care by facility operators, noting that some companies founded in the 90’s were “essentially real estate plays, with little or no focus on operations.”

Michael Hargrave is a vice president of NIC Market Area Profiles service.

“The proliferation of the assisted living industry has helped drive the overall growth in the number of private paying residents residing in seniors housing,” Hargrave says. “Today’s assisted living product is more desirable to prospective residents and families compared to older institutional models, and that’s increased penetration of that sector. There’s lots of opportunity, but also a great deal of smart growth going on right now in seniors housing.”