Senior living operators face mounting cost pressures, staffing shortages, and efficiency challenges. My guest column explores how AI in senior living operations can move organizations from reactive management to proactive strategy—automating workflows, improving resident care, and optimizing performance. Learn how data-driven tools are reshaping the future of senior living and what leaders can do to stay ahead.

Federal Reserve rate cuts move fast through SOFR, lowering construction loan costs for senior housing almost immediately, but effects on 10-year Treasury–linked mortgage rates and commercial real estate debt take longer. Expect weeks for Treasury shifts, months for commercial mortgage repricing, and more time for cap rates to reflect financing changes.

Fed rate cuts could reignite senior housing cap-rate compression. History shows valuations tighten when capital costs ease, but COVID pushed spreads >150 bps above multifamily. With demographics and supply constraints driving long-run demand, today’s wide spreads signal both higher risk and attractive entry points for investors ready to act ahead of recovery.

Rate cuts are likely ahead as Powell says policy is closer to neutral. For senior housing, lower short-term rates reduce construction carry and improve DSCR, but costs still rise 4–6% and supply is constrained. Near-term winners are Active Adult and Independent Living with cleaner operating leverage. Developer playbook: refinance floating debt, secure sites and entitlements, target low-pipeline submarkets with strong 75+ growth, and keep underwriting tight.

In most states, older adults are projected to outlive savings while care costs rise. This post translates national signals into local strategy for housing older adults. Expect tighter budgets, longer work lives, and demand for ADUs, single-level homes, and 55+ rentals and offers a concise due-diligence checklist to guide pricing, product, and pipeline decisions.

Sun Belt growth playbook is changing: permits and starts are down and local rules slow projects, converging with coastal-style constraints. For senior housing, demand is rising and supply lags (large 65+ base; big shortfall by 2030), especially in Sun Belt markets where entitlements are tightening. Strategy: rank sites by approval probability, engage communities early, build regulatory chops, favor infill and buy where below replacement cost.

Senior housing rental rates have surged, driven by demographic tailwinds, limited supply, and cap rate compression. But how long can senior housing rental rate increases be sustained? This post explores market fundamentals, demand elasticity, and strategic pricing amid economic pressures and value-based care shifts.

Value-based care is transforming senior living: healthier residents, bigger profits. Invest in smart tech to boost care, gain funds, and secure your future.

In my guest column for Seniors Housing Business, I examine how naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) offer both competitive and partnership opportunities for senior housing owners and developers. I outline actionable steps for identifying NORCs, assessing their service-needs gap, and leveraging them for referrals or development opportunities.

In my guest column for McKnight’s Senior Living, I describe how demand analysis in senior housing must move beyond age-cohort counts to behavioral and lifestyle drivers. I explain how combining consumer segmentation, local economics, and psychographics gives developers and operators a sharper lens for aligning pricing, product mix, and marketing strategies with real market dynamics.

Explore how artificial intelligence and senior housing can intersect. While AI offers tools for tasks like scheduling, budgeting, and health tracking, its current limitations include a lack of common sense and explainability. However, machine learning within existing platforms presents opportunities for data analysis and predictions, empowering senior living providers to make informed decisions and enhance operations.

In my guest column for Seniors Housing Business, I focus on how labor productivity in senior housing operations—not just staffing ratios—drives long-term efficiency. I outline a four-step framework (measure, assess, test, re-measure) showing how benchmarking and analytics can reveal hidden capacity, reshape cost structures, and strengthen operational resilience.

Boosting senior housing labor productivity is crucial for profitability and addressing staffing shortages. With historically negative productivity growth compared to "pear" industries like hospitals and hotels, there's significant room for improvement. Innovations focused on labor efficiency, potentially leveraging technology, can allow operators to do more with less staff, pay higher wages to attract talent, and ultimately lower costs, enabling new operating models like more

Amid declining operating margins since 2015 due to increased supply and stagnant productivity, the senior housing market faces a critical choice: differentiate or innovate. While differentiation protects existing niches, innovation fundamentally alters market dynamics by creating new consumer segments, products, or service delivery methods. Historically, senior housing has innovated, adapting from CCRCs for the Greatest Generation to independent living and memory care for the

With Baby Boomers nearing 85, the senior housing market faces a critical evolution. Current residents, largely the Silent Generation, view senior housing as a luxury, not a necessity, making them highly price-sensitive. To thrive in this competitive landscape, providers must differentiate beyond basic care by focusing on lifestyle and services. Innovation, or "creative destruction," will be key for senior housing to meet the changing demands of new generations and lead the ma

In my guest column for McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, I present a framework for memory care market assessments in senior housing—from estimating demand by need and affordability to validating local context and assessing provider partnerships. It helps investors and operators navigate this specialized segment with evidence-based clarity and strategic foresight.