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“There’s just an excitement about active adult that I think hasn’t been as widespread since independent living came onto the scene. When people talk about active adult and its potential, huge smiles appear on their faces. They’re eager to bring it into their portfolios and that’s one thing we’re working towards. We’re collecting inventory and performance data so we can help paint that picture and continue to be a partner for them.”

-Kyle Gardner on the Bridge The Gap podcast

As leaders in the senior housing industry gathered in San Diego, CA for the 2023 NIC Spring Conference, Kyle Gardner, NIC MAP Vision’s Chief Operating Officer, sat down with Joshua Crisp and Lucas McCurdy, hosts of the Bridge The Gap podcast, to discuss senior housing market data, trends, and technology that supports the emerging senior housing marketplace.

At the conference, NIC MAP Vision conducted well over 100 meetings with senior housing industry attendees to find out how senior housing market data from NIC MAP Vision’s product suite could help them. One of the most talk-worthy subjects this year was the active adult property type. Kyle says people are “cautiously optimistic” about its revived potential in the marketplace.

“People are hesitant, but they know really good times are right there to be had,” Kyle said on the podcast. “Six million people turn 80 by 2025, that’s right in the sweet spot for independent living. Many are ready to move into active adult right now. If interest rates weren’t tightening the debt market, we would be hearing about insane amounts of construction because people would be chasing down the demographic trend that’s right there to be had. Everyone’s optimistic about that. They want to know, ‘How do I pencil a deal? How do I make this work?’”

Active Adult Defined

In the fall of 2022, NIC MAP Vision’s partner, the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC), released a whitepaper called, Active Adult Rental Properties: Defining the Emerging Property Type, where active adult is defined:

Active adult rental properties are age-eligible, market rate, multifamily properties that are lifestyle focused; general operations do not provide meals.

At the time, NIC President and CEO Brian Jurutka told McKnights Senior Living, “By formally defining this segment, NIC is enabling centralized data collection on the segment and opening the door to additional investment that will increase access and choice for millions in a vital, emerging market.”

Josh and Lucas wanted to know how well-defined active adult really is. Kyle said, “We are hearing from developers, general contractors, operators, and investors who have done a couple of projects or are actively doing projects now. The big thing that stood out is that every prototype has the amenities and the lifestyle focus, but how they approach them is very different. I heard ratios of 60 percent rental capacity to 40 percent common area, which is much more balanced than traditional senior housing or multi-family. And the amenities they’re bringing in might be dog parks, pickleball courts, game rooms, open activity rooms that can get repurposed, salon amenities, and others. But that list is different for each project.”

Senior Housing Market Data To Inform Decisions – Available Now and In The Works

“Right now, NIC MAP Vision has data on a little over 500 properties across the country,” Kyle said. “Those 500 properties are representative of about 130 to 140 metros in 40 or so states. So from a geographic footprint, we have something everywhere. From a depth standpoint, we know who the major operators are and the inventory of those locations. We can tell you the number of units, square footage, campus size, acreage, and things of that nature. Because of NIC’s definition, we have a very refined cohort. You’re going to have an apples-to-apples comparison in the data set.”

“Data that is coming down the road would be rate and occupancy. Everybody’s hungry for it, but it takes a little bit of time to collect. So if you’re an operator or otherwise in this space, I’ll just ask: Please participate. Help us help you. It’ll lower your cost to capital and make your returns better.”

Listen To The Complete Podcast

Log on to Bridge The Gap and listen to Podcast 268 with NIC MAP Vision’s Kyle Gardner. Get the complete interview about active adult and more:

• Important challenges for the senior housing industry
  “Labor is probably the biggest expense that gets talked about, but debt is the other one. There’s a huge appetite to transact, but only the perfect deals are getting penciled right now. We bring some clarity to reduce the apprehension around doing a deal or a transaction.”
• Transparency in the senior housing industry
  “If you give a little transparency, the value you get back is multiplied. And so it’s worth pursuing. You might give up a perceived advantage, but what you gain back in operational value and knowledge is immense.”
• The origin story of NIC MAP Vision and what we offer
  “Our product suite encompasses nine or 10 different solutions. If you’re an investor, in growth mode, if you’re developing, we have tools for sales and marketing and clinical teams, something for everyone. Come and talk to us. Help us understand your business, your needs, and then we’ll put together a package that works for you.”

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