Highlighted quotes from this working paper, followed by tables:

• “Self-reported monthly bills for residents in AL communities is $3,741 and $3,655 on average per person, respectively, compared to $2,442 for ILs and $2,809 for the IL portion of IL/ALs.

• About 40 percent of residents in the IL portion of IL/ALs reported that all of their expenses are covered by their current income, with an additional 28 percent stating that their current income covers most of their expenses. In contrast, only 21 percent in the ALs reported all of their expenses are covered by their current income, with an additional 26 percent stating most expenses are covered by their current income.

• A vast majority of residents – over 84 percent – report that they are the primary payer by themselves, either with current income combining with spending down their savings and/or assets.

• Among those residents with most expenses covered by their current income, 86 percent reported that savings and assets are used to pay for the housing and care and 19 percent indicated that they receive help from family.”

“Conclusions and Future Directions: The timing of the RFS, fielded in the summer of 2011, is at least one reason why we find that residents are concerned about their ability to continue to pay for their community and care costs. We find that individuals overwhelmingly report that they are self-reliant, with very few relying on family to pay for their community and care. The average monthly fees range between $3,200 and $3,800 per month, after accounting for additional services individuals pay for that are not included in their monthly bill from the community. While about one-third report paying for these expenses out of their income alone, many report actively spending down their assets for their care. Given the relatively recent stock market and housing market drops, being concerned about their ability to continue paying these bills seems reasonable. Overwhelmingly, though, residents feel as if they are getting good value for their money. Those who are not satisfied with the services they are receiving for their monthly payments are much more likely to be concerned about their ability to pay. Since 40 percent of respondents expressed “some concern” and an additional 15-30 percent indicated “considerable concern,” further exploration is warranted on how these concerns relate to plans about moving out of the community.”

TABLES: The source of these tables is the working paper listed above by Coe and Wu.

COSTS OF IL AND AL

INCOME AND ASSETS

PORTION OF EXPENSES COVERED BY CURRENT INCOME

Methodology

The Residents Financial Survey (RFS) was designed to measure the assets and incomes of individuals in freestanding ILs, freestanding ALs, and communities that offer both IL and AL arrangements. This survey gathered information from 2,617 residents in 158 independent living (IL), assisted living (AL), and combined independent living/assisted living (IL/AL) communities on the income and assets at the time of the survey (2011), as well as retrospective information concerning living arrangements, care provision, and financial gifts given.  Of the respondents, about 477 lived in ILs, 88 in ALs, and 1,260 in combined IL/AL communities (with 32% in IL and 15.5% in the AL portion of those communities. For more detail on methodology, see the working paper “Overview of the Residents Financial Survey” at http://crr.bc.edu/working-papers/residents-in-seniors-housing-and-care-communities-overview-of-the-residents-financial-survey/ .

About the Center for Retirement Research

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, part of a consortium that includes parallel centers at the University of Michigan and the National Bureau of Economic Research, was established in 1998 through a grant from the Social Security Administration. The Center’s mission is to produce first-class research and forge a strong link between the academic community and decision-makers in the public and private sectors around an issue of critical importance to the nation’s future. To achieve this mission, the Center sponsors a wide variety of research projects, transmits new findings to a broad audience, trains new scholars, and broadens access to valuable data sources.

Here are the first few paragraphs of the article.  Below is a link to the full article.

When it comes to supportive services and active adult communities, builders aren’t offering everything consumers would like. The vast majority of 55+ home builders have provided large golf course or amenity-rich communities and market to “active adults.” Yet an NAHB/MetLife report indicates that one-third to one-half of potential 55+ buyers would prefer to have supportive and care services offered in 55+ housing communities. What does this market segment want, and how can home builders reach them?

The Consumer/Builder Gap Analysis

A “Consumer/Builder Gap Analysis” in the NAHB/MetLife report: 55+ Housing: Builders, Buyers, and Beyond (2009) compared the responses of consumers regarding their preferences, and of builders regarding the housing they are building. That analysis demonstrated that between a third and half of all 55+ consumer households would like to have supportive and care services included in 55+ housing communities, while only 2% to 5% of builders provide them.

The study reports that 35% to 48% of age 55+ consumers say they would prefer to have access to on-site health care, housekeeping, van service, home-delivered meals, laundry, and personal care services as part of their new housing community. And it’s not just older buyers who want these services. The NAHB report concludes that “55-to-64-year-olds want services like home maintenance and repair for their next home, as well as services usually connected to older householders, such as housekeeping, on-site healthcare and transportation.”

The Active Market Segment is Well-Served

Still, there is certainly a large market segment that wants a purely active adult lifestyle and does not want services. Sales staff from widely different locations across the country believe that many active adult consumer prospects would flee from a community that offered care and supportive services, or implied a future need for such services.

This “active” market segment is well-served by the home building industry, as is obvious from an Internet search for age 55+ new home communities. Where to Retire magazine, which catalogs active adult retirement communities, devoted its July/August 2011 issue to “The Short List: The 50 Best Master-Planned Communities in the United States.” Of the 50 communities selected, none mentioned supportive or care services. Nor does its chart listing key amenities include access to supportive services as desirable.

Success Stories Combining For-Sale Housing and Services

Despite the preponderance of for-sale home communities focusing entirely on active adults, there are a number of good models for communities that have successfully combined high-quality new homes with access to a full range of supportive and care services. Although the number of units in such communities is generally much smaller, their success has been at least equal to that achieved by their larger active adult, golf-course counterparts. Some have received national recognition by NAHB and others for the quality of their offerings.

Let’s look at some of these communities to offer a glimpse of how new, for-sale homes are being effectively combined with services to provide just the right product for those consumers who are seeking the best of both worlds.

Read more……….

http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/nahb50mag/issues/2011-11-18/email.html

We are tracking 418 affordable senior apartment units, 1,239 assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, and market-rate senior apartment units, and a variable number of for-sale homes in active adult communities.

If you know of something we have missed, let us know.

By next week or so, all the handouts from the presentations will be uploaded to their website. We were also given a tour of their new website, on which the office has compiled both their own estimates and projections, as well as provided key data from the 2010 census and other economic and demographic sources.  As you might imagine, much of the conversation is about the rapid aging of the population in Colorado and elsewhere. Our projected numbers of 65+ is more dramatic than most states, as we have been a very young state and have a huge number of baby boomers who will turn 65 every day for the next 18 years.

More later on this, but in the meantime, check out Elizabeth Garner’s new powerpoint, ” The Age Wave in Colorado”

In an August 3, 2011 article, the New York Times provided this chart, displaying data from the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing and Care Industry’s second quarter NIC MAP report, indicating that Denver outperformed most cities in year-over-year rent change, at 2.3% for the Denver MSA, compared to a 1.6% average. Occupancy rates stayed stable across the 31 cities at 87.7%, with Denver metro lagging somewhat at 86.7%.

We believe the occupancy lag in the Denver market is strongly related to the huge percentage of new independent living inventory that opened in the Denver area in 2008 and 2009 – considering the addition of about 2,000 units during that time, we think Denver’s independent living occupancy is doing well compared to other cities.

As a state with one of the highest proportions of baby boomers in the population, it is no surprise that Colorado is ranked number 3 out of 50 in percentage growth in the age 60+ population. Whether they like it or not, many of those boomers turned 60 during the last decade.

Surprising, given Colorado’s historically low proportion of seniors, is our ranking as the state with the 7th highest growth rate of the age 85+ population between 2000 and 2010.  This ranking is particularly important given that those age 85+ are the primary customers of most senior independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing.

Questions?  Call or email us.

It is still crucial to focus on two things: First, make sure you are all you can be and then second, double or triple your marketing efforts.

One marketing director recently told me they had cut their marketing staff because their occupancy was down! The way we see it, if you now need three times more leads to get one move in, then you need to generate three times the inquiries and work three times harder to sell the ones that do inquire. Can you really afford to lose even one lead just because no one could give a good tour on Saturday or your guest restroom is dirty or you don’t have time to stay in touch with prospects? Instead, have a goal of full occupancy with a wait list:

1. Walk through your senior housing community every day and try to look at everything from the eyes of a potential resident or family member – fix what isn’t right.
2. Have someone do mystery shops of your community and your key competitors, then sit down and work on the top 5 areas where you did not measure up the way you hoped.
3. Have good sales coverage in the early evening and on weekends (link to Guerilla Marketing).
4. Find creative ways to have real people answer your inquiry calls 24/7 as much as possible.
5. Triple the follow-up contacts you have with all your leads.
6. Test your Internet accessibility – have different people try to find you on the Internet by searching for properties like yours. Talk with a consultant to maximize your web presence.
7. Offer real help to those who want to move in but worry about selling their homes: compile current data on real home sale trends and pricing, engage professionals to help people prepare their homes for sale, stage their homes, downsize, find good Realtors, and get organized to move. Let prospects know how you can help them.
8. Post pictures and videos and quotes of great things happening every day at your community on your Facebook page; actively work all major social media.
9. Check out your marketing software to make sure your leads are tracked, staff gets lists of to-dos for outreach and follow-up activities, and you get reports on the number of leads and move-ins generated from different marketing expenditures.
10. Make sure every staff person thinks of himself/herself as part of the marketing staff.

LeadingAge Colorado’s Bus tours – extreme makeovers and new affordable apartments

Want an easy and fun way to see what others are doing to renovate aging properties and see the newest senior apartments?  LeadingAge Colorado (formerly Colorado Association of Homes and Services for the Aging) is offering two bus tours of senior properties. On August 31^st, the “Senior Communities – Extreme Makeover” bus tour will visit MorningStar at Dayton Place, Thomas Bean Tower, Eaton Senior Programs, and Christian Living Communities Clermont Park, all properties that have recently completed or are in the midst of major renovations.  On September 28^th, the Community Connections tour will feature four affordable senior apartment properties, opened in 2011: Yale Station Apartments, Chafee Park, Dahlia Square, and Creekside West. The tours last all day and include great lunches, snacks and networking too! Elisabeth Borden from The Highland Group will be on board with the tour guide microphone to provide project and market overviews. Sign up now at www.leadingagecolorado.org .

1. Who are your true competitors – whom are you really being shopped against? – It may not be who you think. (You have to include the properties that are not specifically “senior” properties.)
2. What exactly are the services, amenities, pricing, and reputation of your true competitors?
3. What are your strengths and weaknesses against your true competitors – have you mystery shopped both yourself and your competitors?
4. How are your competitors doing right now and how are you doing?  Why?
5. What else is going on in your area? (new competitors, older competitors adding on or renovating, lowering prices, adding services, offering new services, new pricing plans)
6. How can you best change or adapt your building, your services, and your pricing strategies to compete most effectively?
7. How can you best target your marketing messages and strategies?