Who are the renters in senior housing?

The National Association of Home Builders wrote a summary of the American Housing Survey of senior consumers and what they want from housing and/or senior communities.

In the single-family detached housing market, 55+ customers on average looked at 10 homes before deciding upon a unit, about the same as younger households. However, single-family customers in the oldest age bracket (75+) only look at about four homes before making their final choice. Customers who chose multifamily housing looked at considerably fewer units (about five) before moving in, possibly because those who rent spend less effort on finding a unit than buyers.

I'd like to suggest a couple of other reasons those looking at multifamily housing look at fewer units:

1. If the consumer is looking at a rental senior housing community, it's often because they are older (buying a condominium for equity doesn't make sense for them, so they are choosing to rent-plus the average age is about 80+ in independent rental communities!), and if they are older, they are likely looking for a community that can offer them some health care services (such as assistance with meals or bathing).
2. If they are looking for a community with services, there may have been a life-event that short circuited their ability to spend a lot of time looking (such as the death of a spouse, or change in health status).
3. Trying to navigate the maze of senior housing and health care services is a daunting task. Who would have the energy to look at more than 5?!?

This phenomena of renters not looking at a lot of different communities has much more to do with whether the consumer is renting or buying.

A note to Minnesota Senior Housing Communities: The consumer has already narrowed the list of the number of communities he/she is considering. Vacancy rates for these rental communities are climbing everyday and your competition continues to increase.  Therefore, when you have a consumer who comes to you looking for a home, you had better dazzle them with a friendly tour, a clean-up to date building, a spacious apartment that you're willing to adapt to meet the consumer's needs, ample storage, and plenty of opportunities for transportation to get groceries and prescriptions. Listen to what your consumer wants and figure out a way to give it to them!