Spring NIC Conference 2019 Recap

The spring regional senior housing investors NIC conference was held this year from February 20th-22nd, 2019 in beautiful San Diego, CA. This location is one of our favorites for The JCH Group, as it’s just a short 2-hour drive from our corporate headquarters in Orange County, CA. Unfortunately, the conference attendees were not able to enjoy the typical southern California weather, it rained nearly the entire conference.

The JCH Group Sets A New Conference Record

The conference appeared to be well attended, but it was not the jammed packed attendance the Fall NIC typically attracts. This may be due to location and timing of the event. Regardless of attendance, it was a magnificent event for all those that attended. The JCH team was able to set a new company record by completing nearly 60 one on one meetings in just two days’ time. We had the opportunity to meet with various senior housing and assisted living investors interested in either buying or selling assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities. There is no other conference in the industry where you can complete this number of meetings in a short amount of time. Some of the hot topics discussed at NIC were mirrored by those of the ASHA conference, however there were a few additional key takeaways from this event.

Reoccurring Issues in The Senior Housing Industry

The most pressing and critical topic of discussion continues to center around labor shortages. Assuming there are no major economic issues in the next couple of years, this will be the single largest issue facing the senior housing industry. What makes this such a problem? There are very few viable solutions being contemplated by the industry and it doesn’t look like operators will be able to pass the wage inflationary pressures on to the residents and their rental rates. This is due to the large amount of new supply entering the market on a national basis. Many operators struggled with sagging census in 2018, which makes it very difficult to raise rental rates when your facility is not at stabilization.

It is generally agreed that the Skilled Nursing sector is rebounding from decade low census and will likely complete a full rebound sooner than the Assisted Living and Memory Care sectors. This is primarily due to the lack of new supply in the Skilled market. With fewer new beds coming on line, it allows existing assets to capture new patients entering the market. The Assisted Living and Memory Care markets have a much longer road ahead to recovery, due to the significant new supply across the country.

Oversupply of Equity in The Senior Housing Market

Lastly, some good news for deal junkies. There is still an oversupply of equity in the market place and this is equity that must be deployed to earn a return. A surplus of equity and plenty of debt available has kept pricing high, even while some of the fundamentals of the asset class have struggled over the past 12-18 months. Call us today to learn more about what this means to you.

The JCH Group Can Answer Any Senior Housing Question

Overall it was a very robust and productive NIC conference for the JCH team. If you need an advisor in the senior housing space, look no further. The JCH Group offers unmatched expertise and experience in the Senior Housing industry. Call us today to answer any senior housing questions you may have.

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