The National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC) and the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) announced the release of the "2009 NIC/ASHA Seniors Housing Construction Trends Report" at the NIC Annual Conference a few weeks ago in Chicago.  The report highlights properties under construction as of March 2009 in the nation’s top 100 metropolitan markets and the latest edition of the report includes current and historical statistics on the development, construction and supply of senior apartments, independent living, assisted living, nursing care and continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) from 1985 through 2008.  The report utilizes data provided from the NIC MAP® Data and Analysis Service, which summarizes and verifies data gathered from multiple sources, including McGraw-Hill Construction.

"Key findings from this year’s report include the extent to which construction activity has slowed due to the lack of financing available for developers and the continued pressures from the overall economic recession," said Michael Hargrave, vice president – NIC MAP. "For the year ending March 31, 2009, total units started in the previous 12 months were down 37% compared to the same time period a year earlier and down 45% compared to two years ago."

"This year’s report also provides some valuable insights into the construction activity for CCRC properties," said David Schless, president of ASHA. "While there were expansions to existing campuses that continued to take place, only a handful of brand new CCRCs started construction in the past year. The markets that have traditionally embraced the CCRC model are markets that continue to have the most activity, such as Boston and Chicago."
"This report is invaluable to seniors housing and care decision-makers, because it provides a comprehensive overview of nationwide construction activity based on verified counts," said Robert G. Kramer, president of NIC. "The report analyzes data drawn from the nation’s 100 largest metro markets, which contain approximately 66% of the total U.S. population.  Relative to historical growth, the data shows that the amount of construction activity since 2000 has been modest compared to that which the industry experienced in the 1980s and 1990s.  Investors and developers can use this information to gauge construction trends when planning their development strategies."

The "2009 NIC/ASHA Seniors Housing Construction Trends Report" is available for $150. For more information, visit www.NIC.org or www.seniorshousing.org.