Strong demand and modest inventory growth contribute to increased senior housing occupancy rate

The senior housing occupancy rate increased 1 percentage point from 81.2 percent in the second quarter of 2022 to 82.2 percent in the third quarter of 2022, according to data from NIC MAP Vision. Occupancy is up 4.3 percentage points as of this quarter, from a pandemic low of 77.9 percent in the second quarter of 2021.

The senior housing occupancy rate increase — the fifth consecutive quarter of increase — is due to a surge in demand that strongly outpaced growth in inventory. Further, the total number of occupied senior housing units within the 31 NIC MAP Primary Markets is just 2,400 units shy of its pre-pandemic all-time high level.

Demand has rebounded more strongly for assisted living than independent living, with another quarter of robust gains pushing the number of occupied assisted living units to their highest level ever in the third quarter across the primary markets. Because new inventory has been added during the pandemic, the overall assisted living oc