Spring NIC Conference 2020 Recap
The spring regional senior housing investors NIC conference was held this year from March 4-6, 2020 in beautiful San Diego, CA. This location is a favorite for The JCH Senior Housing Investment Brokerage, as it’s just a short 2-hour drive from our corporate headquarters in Orange County, CA.
Attendance
The conference appeared to be well attended, but due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus a significant number of registered participants opted not to attend. Regardless of attendance, it was a productive event for all those in attendance. The JCH team was able to complete over 30 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 independent, assisted living, memory care facilities and skilled nursing facilities. There is no other conference in the industry where you can complete this number of meetings in such 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.
Coronavirus
As one might expect the Coronavirus was on the mind of every attendee, elbow bumps instead of handshakes and hugs became the norm when greeting old and new friends alike. I was impressed with the way the senior housing industry was springing into action to deal with this national healthcare crisis. Restricting visitors, screening vendors as well as employees all to keep residents safe and healthy.
Reoccurring Issues in The Senior Housing Industry
The most pressing and critical topic of discussion other than the virus continues to center around labor shortages and low census. Assuming there are no major economic issues in the next couple of years, and who knows what the economy will do as this virus progresses, these will be the largest issues facing the senior housing industry. Looking forward, as new assisted living facilities continue to open, both labor issues and census issues will continue to be problems.
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. There is still an oversupply of equity in the marketplace, this is equity that must be placed to earn a return. A surplus of equity, low interest rates and plenty of debt available has kept pricing high. 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.