Long-term care owners, operators and professionals uniformly have an optimistic outlook on the future of senior housing and care. That’s according to a poll taken during the recent 2024 National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care Fall Conference.
On a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being extremely negative and 5 extremely positive, the average overall outlook landed at 4.14.
While the survey didn’t differentiate for our outlooks on skilled nursing versus senior living, Lisa McCracken, NIC’s head of research and analytics, said that, anecdotally, both operator groups would likley say they were in a better place today than a year ago.
“We know that there are certainly ongoing headwinds in the skilled nursing space related to labor, the regulatory environment and reimbursement levels, but we are seeing continued improvement in occupancies and less volatility than one year ago on some of the key expense pressures,” McCracken told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. “That serves to boost both senior housing and nursing care providers.”
In all, 2,600-people responded to the survey, which asked, “What is your overall outlook for senior housing and care across the next year?” Respondents were slightly more positive (0.03 points on average) than when a similar poll was conducted at NIC’s spring meeting in March.
Poll respondents’ optimism resonates within the sector.
“Despite the extreme challenges our industry has faced over the past three-and-a-half-years, our conviction in its long-term prospects have never been stronger,” Jamie Cobb, chief financial officer at Columbia Pacific Advisors, told McKnights Long-Term Care Friday. “Our great industry rose to the challenge, and we’ll be benefiting from the improvements made for years to come.”
Of all respondent groups, which included products/services company operators, investors and lenders, providers had the strongest outlook at 4.37. Lenders had the lowest, at 4, which is still considered a strong positive rating.
Breaking down the changing sentiments by individual groups shows that, providers’ views elevated by an average of 0.32, while lender scores increased by 0.15, and financial intermediaries went up by 0.13.
Talk about the US economy heading in an upward direction could be one catalyst behind the increasingly positive views, experts said.
“With the recent rate cut by the Federal Reserve, projected future rate reductions, and significant demand dynamics driven by the aging demographic, many continue to see brighter days ahead,” McCracken said in a related blog.
