Housing crisis slows down assisted living

The ripple effect of the recession has seen a cross over from sector to sector. For instance, the slowdown in the housing market has led to a decrease of occupancy in assisted living facilities. This is because elderly people looking to move into assisted living facilities are having a troubled time selling their homes.

According to a Reuters' article occupancy rates in assisted living facilities have leveled off at 2.1 million senior housing beds managed by companies and nonprofit organizations. Companies such as Brookdale Senior Living have had a 1.5 percent decline in occupancy rate in the first quarter with expected flat occupancy for the rest of the year. Other facilities have seen a similar drop off. The hardest hit markets are in south Florida, Las Vegas and California.

"Some of the operators are starting to see that even people that have moved in recently are moving out" because they are unable to sell their homes, said Derrick Dagnan, an analyst at Avondale Partners, to Reuters.

Another main problem is the fact many 65 and older are postponing retirement because of stock market losses. This has led many elderly people to stay where they are rather than retire and move into an assisted living facility. The American Association of Retired Persons says it has been a confluence of bad things happening at the same time for Americans.

Different sub-sections of assisted living, such as nursing homes and continuing care homes, will feel the impact of the recession. The least affected by the economy in this sense are theindependent living facilities. These do not provide medical assistance and are more of a lifestyle choice, according to the Reuters article.

(Information sourced from Reuters)