There may be more than 14 million boomers that will not be able to afford seniors housing plus their health care needs. It is time to address the issue.
We have been saying it for years. The largest unmet need in seniors housing is the bulging middle income cohort, which some researchers have defined as between the 40th and 80th percentile in terms of financial resources. In other words, the largest cohort. When they really start to need it in 10 years, more than 14 million seniors will not be able to afford the current assisted living or independent living models, plus the other health care needs they will have.
Unfortunately, this has not been a secret. But it is one that has largely been ignored by the seniors housing industry. Why? Because no one has figured out how to make money at it, whether it is building, owning or managing communities that can serve this growing population.
Well, someone is going to have to figure it out, and it had better be soon. The University of Chicago, Harvard and others are making headlines about the problem, and are teaming up with NIC in New York City later this month for a little symposium on the topic.
Better late than never, as this is a hugely important issue. One way to attack it is in the Active Adult market, which we will be exploring in tomorrow’s webinar. See you there.
