Lending Still a Barrier for Senior Living Development, Growth in 2025

At the start of 2025, senior living companies are ready to hit the ground running with new development and construction projects. Lenders are not. The senior living industry is currently in a “transitional phase” for new development, NIC Senior Principal Omar Zahraoui told Senior Housing News earlier this month. New permanent loan volume for senior living “rebounded to its highest level since 2020” in the second quarter last year, while construction loan lending saw a modest uptick in that time.  Although Zahraoui is cautiously optimistic about the road ahead with regard to lending, current conditions in construction lending and costs suggest that a big development rebound is out of reach in 2025.
That said, operators are still looking to press go on construction and acquisition funding, and are working to entice investors to come off the sidelines.  The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates three times in 2024, which Levy said led to meaningful improvement in companies’ ability to get new loans. The senior living industry has grappled with a wall of debt maturities in recent years. In 2025, the senior living industry faces $10 billion in loan maturities, according to data cited by NIC. To that end, senior living companies still have a long road to tread.  Debt capital is available but is both harder to get and more expensive, which Levy believes will likely lead to more all-cash transactions throughout the remainder of the year. He said that he doesn’t think construction lending will pick up without a “lower rate environment” that would make those projects a more attractive use of capital for banks.  Read the full article here:  
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