Although the senior housing market has faced challenges in the past, current demographic, economic and sectoral trends indicate the industry is ripe with opportunity. Demand is growing at record-breaking rates due to the unprecedented baby boomer age wave. In fact, the number of Americans 80 years and older is projected to grow exponentially over the next 25 years, with nearly 17 million “new” 80+-year-olds by 2050. Recent trends are giving the market a boost,  such as increased penetration rates, normalizing labor pools and recovering banking conditions. The data is clear: Senior housing demand growth is durable and long lasting, providing a sound investment opportunity that shouldn’t be overlooked. 

Arick Morton, NIC MAP CEO, spoke at RETCON 2025, the leading technology and innovation conference for the commercial real estate industry. Here, he discussed the future of senior housing with executives, investors, and innovators to highlight the need for increased senior housing and the generational opportunity within the real estate industry. Below are the highlights from his presentation. 

What is Senior Housing?  

Senior housing encompasses many residence types, including active adult, independent living, assisted living, memory care and continuing care, and meets a broad range of needs — everything from shelter, meals and recreation to specialized care, long-term care, chronic care and more. From a real estate perspective, senior housing focuses on housing and care for seniors, which differs from multifamily real estate, which is concentrated on general rental housing, and healthcare real estate, which is primarily comprised of medical facilities. The breadth and depth of senior housing makes it a compelling asset class. 

A Market in Transition:  Challenges and Opportunities  

Like many industries, senior housing has experienced its fair share of difficulties during COVID, including plummeting penetration rates, drastically reduced labor pools and challenging capital constraints. However, as senior housing confronts this moment of market dislocation, ample space for smart, long-term investments is being unveiled. In fact, senior housing market fundamentals are now becoming quite favorable, with history-making absorption rates, improved labor markets and refreshed lending opportunities driving continued margin recovery. In addition, although credit tightening slowed senior housing transaction and construction during COVID, and, as a result, supply growth stalled despite surging absorption, public markets have recognized this shift, creating a unique and appealing investment opportunity. 

Demand Is Coming — Knowing When and Where Is Imperative  

With the first baby boomers turning 80 in 2025, senior housing demand growth is expected to skyrocket at an unprecedented rate, and that will reverberate for decades to come. However, demand will vary by geography, product type and income level. Having access to market intelligence and a clear understanding of the opportunity, such as where and what to build or buy, is key to continued expansion and success in the sector. According to 

NIC MAP data, demand is already accelerating and will only gain momentum with time. With a 550,000-unit shortfall expected by 2030, the industry is not well positioned to meet projected demand. The need for investment in new senior housing developments or value-add repositioning of existing developments has never been so dire.  

Data-Driven Investing Matters Now More Than Ever  

NIC MAP, the senior housing industry’s leading provider of senior housing intelligence, supplies investors and senior housing stakeholders with powerful supply and demand data that uncovers key trends and investment challenges and opportunities, helping them make decisions to leverage current market conditions for continued growth and success. The supply and demand imbalance that exists today has not only created a  investment opportunity, but also an urgent societal need. Stakeholders who view senior housing with an insightful lens — one that sees a high-ROI real estate niche supported by precision analytics — will reap the rewards of this opportunity. 

Innovation and Capital Will Fuel Senior Housing’s Next Phase 

The data is in and it’s clear. Demand growth is rapidly increasing as the first boomers turn 80 this year. Supply growth will take years to stabilize, putting future-ready investors and operators in an ideal position to embark on new developments and help shape the next phase of senior housing. Countless opportunities exist for new developments, as well as value-add repositioning addressing functional obsolescence and operational improvement, in an industry that is poised for institutional capital as it becomes more transparent and data-informed than ever before.  

A Call to Action: Unlock Capital 

Senior housing is an asset class with long-term demand drivers. Now is the time for investors to pay attention. A senior housing shortage looms as current supply is at an all-time low. Because of this, the industry faces abig challenge: Deliver two to three times more supply than current levels to keep pace with demographics — that’s 1.9X more units per year than the historical maximum for the next 20 years. These surging fundamentals create material opportunities for investors ready to deploy capital, and NIC MAP’s data tools and insights provide reliable, comprehensive data that can help guide smart investment decisions during this revolutionary time in senior housing. 

Interested in learning more? talk to a product expert.