Senior housing occupancy remains stable in Q1 2020

Senior housing occupancy decreased slightly to 87.7 percent in first quarter 2020, according to new data from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). Though occupancy was relatively stable leading up to the coronavirus outbreak in March, the impact of COVID-19 is not yet evident in the data.

Additional data from the first quarter show San Jose (95 percent) and San Francisco (91.5 percent) with the highest occupancy rates of the 31 metropolitan markets that comprise NIC’s Primary Markets, while Houston (82.1 percent) and Atlanta (82.7 percent) recorded the lowest. Cleveland experienced the largest occupancy increase from a year ago, rising from 81.4 percent to 84.9 percent. Pittsburgh saw the largest year-over-year decrease, falling from 89.9 percent to 86.6 percent. NIC experts say these data represent an industry baseline just prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

Among specific senior housing types, the occupancy rate for independent liv