Rents for independent living communities are steadily growing in some cities in the South and Northwest, while stagnating or even falling elsewhere, according to a new report from market intelligence firm Reis.
Of the 112 U.S. metro areas Reis studied, Jackson, South Carolina, saw the most average rent growth, with a more than 10% increase between the first quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2017. Fort Myers, Florida, wasn’t far behind when it logged a senior housing rent growth just under 10%.
Here’s the full breakdown:
Rent growth in some other markets was a little more flat. Jackson, Mississippi; Daytona Beach, Florida; and Springfield, Massachusetts, all saw rent growth between 2% and 2.5%, for example.
Here are the markets where independent living rents grew at the slowest rate:
- Jackson, Mississippi — 2.4%
- Daytona Beach, Florida — 2.2%
- Springfield, Massachusetts — 2.0%
- New Orleans, Louisiana — 1.9%
- Buffalo, New York — 1.7%
- Evansville, Indiana — 1.4%
- Albuquerque, New Mexico — 1.2%
Some cities actually saw independent living rent fall in the two-year period. Rents dropped the most in Springfield, Missouri, which saw average independent living rent decline by 0.5% between the first quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2017. Additionally, average rent growth dropped in Syracuse, New York, and Youngstown, Ohio, by 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.
A number of factors, not just demographics, drove demand in many markets, the report found. A handful of markets with aging populations didn’t see rents grow much faster than the national average, for example. And the opposite was also true.
“Some metros, such as New Haven, Connecticut, and Westchester County, New York, have not seen strong population growth in their seniors demographic, yet they have posted average rent-growth rates for independent living facilities that are in line with the U.S. average,” the report notes. “Other metros that have had a rapidly growing senior population, such as Boise, Idaho, have seen slower rent-growth rates over the past two years.”
Written by Tim Regan
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