Skip to Content
Bob cat construction machnery on the front yard of a senior living house. There is a construction worker in the back renovating the driveway pavement
Article

Why alarm is rising over amount of obsolete senior housing properties, and looming shakeout

May 9, 2023 / 9 min. read

In this SHN+ article, Dana Wollschlager and other experts weigh in on the senior living industry’s concerning lack of investment into CapEx, the impact of that neglect, and the likely shakeout.

The increasing obsolescence of U.S. senior housing stock was a growing concern prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the issue has only become more pressing.

As of 2019, the average age of senior housing stock across the 31 primary markets tracked by NIC MAP Vision was 21 years. Today, about 45% of the inventory base across those markets is 25 years or older. Furthermore, the elevated cost of capital and margin compression are making capital expenditures (CapEx) more difficult.

Many industry experts, including Plante Moran Living Forward (PMLF), have spoken up about this issue. From PMLF’s perspective, we’ve seen a number of communities severely neglect CapEx, particularly during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when leaders’ attention was understandably elsewhere.

Competing priorities notwithstanding, CapEx planning is vital to providers who wish to stay relevant in the future. In a SHN+ article, author Tim Mullaney explains how years of under-investment in CapEx have put providers in a more difficult place today, what the average age of top-performing communities are (and why that matters), and how the future shakeout will put further stress on the industry.

With the voices of PMLF’s practice leader Dana Wollschlager and other industry experts weighing in, this article underscores just how important a CapEx plan is to a community’s marketability. A facility and property condition assessment can help prioritize where to invest dollars for the most impact and ROI.

Read the full article on SHN+ at seniorhousingnews.com.


Read more

Related Thinking

Team of senior living development consultants and senior living architects reviewing development drawings at a table
March 19, 2021

Senior living owners, operators reassess CapEx priorities for 2021, beyond

Article 8 min read
Senior living maintenance man reviewing jobs on a tablet in front of the back of his work van filled with tools.
August 12, 2020

Why COVID-19 makes CapEx planning vital for senior living providers

Article 9 min read
Group of people in an office around a tablet looking at building floor plans
July 15, 2019

Four reasons why you should assess the condition of your senior living facilities

Article 5 min read