Some seniors are opting to stay in their homes and wait for their home equity to return, rather than moving on to senior living facilities, says a recent report from a Massachusetts newspaper. Several assisted living and senior housing facilities have recorded low occupancy levels due to the economic downturn and a trend in seniors who are using in-home care rather than moving out of their homes, in order to wait out the housing recovery, the report finds.
An article in the Massachusetts newspaper the Milford Daily News cites several instances of senior housing facilities with falling occupancy rates since 2008. Most operators of the housing facilities say seniors are staying in their homes longer and are opting for in-home care rather than assisted living or nursing care. The decision often falls on the families and children of the seniors, who are opting to wait out the housing downturn and hope for home equity to return, rather than lose the value of their homes.
“Rather than sell their home, which is typically a senior person’s major asset, they’ve chosen to increase the senior person’s home care rather than moving and selling their home during a difficult time in the housing market,” Betsy Willard, director of a Wayland, Mass.-based Sunrise assisted living facility told the Milford Daily News.
“What we saw was some of our folks were coming to us a little bit later than normal,” another assisted living operator told the paper. “I think families were a little more conscious of mom’s investments and financial manners.”
View the Milford Daily News article.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
