Repurposing Distressed Assets as a Solution to Serve the Middle Market

Since the 2019 “Forgotten Middle” study, NIC has recognized the need to move towards actionable solutions for housing and care for the middle-market older adult. In early 2023, NIC joined with CVS Health to sponsor an in-depth study by Milken Institute’s Financial Innovations Lab® and Center for the Future of Aging to identify viable, actionable solutions for financing and scaling middle market senior housing & care. The culmination of this work is captured in a newly released report called, “Innovative Financing and Care Models to Scale Affordable Housing Solutions for Middle-Income Older Adults.” Four potential strategies for both senior housing and housing with care are outlined in this report. 

1. Repurpose distressed senior living properties to serve the middle market through a pilot refinancing/restructuring program. 
2. Design a revolving loan fund to provide a sustainable source of capital long-term for middle market development, acquisitions or cap ex. 
3. Implement a Pay-for-Performance model to provide new revenue streams that offset the ongoing costs of providing supportive care services to chronically ill middle market older adults.  
4. Launch a regional pilot to generate data to provide evidence-based outcomes to judge performance and determine how best to scale.

With the projected loan maturities in 2024 and 2025 and assessments of the level of distress in the market, NIC sees this is as an opportunity to bring down price points and repurpose distressed assets to bring forth reasonable housing and care options for middle-market older adults. The senior housing and care sector has been working to scale housing & care options for the “Forgotten Middle” and there is a potential that the current headwinds can be turned into a real opportunity to make a meaningful impact for this cohort of older adults. This is one of several potential scenarios. Innovative strategies that encompass select aspects of the four scenarios may yield the most viable alternatives. 

On February 1st, NIC will host a webinar to discuss these findings and implications for our sector. Register to attend. Additionally, the middle market older adult will be another focus of educational content at the NIC Spring Conference. To read the full report from the Milken Financial Innovations Lab, please click here.