The 80+ population is surging, the caregiver ratio is falling from seven working-age adults per senior to under three, construction has nearly stopped, and the residents are the wealthiest generation of seniors on record. Occupancy is at 89.5% and climbing.
The fundamentals look like easy money. They are not. Most of what determines outcomes in this sector sits on the operating side: a contracting care labor pool, regulation that shifts state by state, and inconsistent operator capabilities across markets.
This is the executive summary of Part II of our Healthcare Built Space series, a deep dive on senior living: the product, the business, the customer, and why the supply gap will not close quickly.