Senior Housing Market Rising

The housing market recovery has lead more mid-aged home owners to sell their homes. As a result, investors are predicting a large advance in the senior housing market. 

The first six months of 2013 has brought about sales from seniors in multi-family properties. This includes assisted living as well as senior care facilities. 

In the first half of this year, sales of senior multifamily housing properties—which include assisted living and home care facilities larger increased in one year. The numbers have grown to $1.59 billion from $1.18 billion. This information was communicated from the CoStar COMPs records. Despite the fact that sales are on an incline, values still remain low.

"Per-unit sale prices have steadily fallen since peaking in the third quarter of 2011, dropping from about $88,000 per unit to $58,000 per unit, according to CoStar data. 

Investors are banking on a large recovery for the sector and redirecting their assets in anticipation of a senior housing boom.  Several major REITs are beginning to sell some of their commercial assets to raise money to redirect toward senior housing and care facilities, the CoStar Group reports.

"There are a lot of buyers in the market right now," says Scott M. Brinker, executive vice president of investments of the Health Care REIT Inc., one of the biggest players in the sector. "Like us, they're attracted by resilient returns and strong fundamentals.”