Senior housing occupancy remained flat in second quarter 2021, holding at 78.7 percent, according to new NIC MAP data, powered by NIC MAP Vision. Though COVID-19 cases in senior living properties dropped significantly in the past quarter, occupancy has not turned the corner, largely due to new inventory coming online.
Despite unchanged occupancy, demand for senior housing improved in the second quarter. NIC MAP reported the first positive quarterly absorption — the number of units leased on a net basis — since first quarter 2020 and the most positive absorption since 2019.
“Second quarter data confirms anecdotes that occupancy at many properties improved as move-ins accelerated thanks to limited property-level COVID-19 infections,” said Beth Burnham Mace, NIC’s chief economist. “However, inventory grew and outpaced demand, and that’s why we aren’t seeing an occupancy uptick.”
Assisted living and independent living properties both experienced li
