WSJ: Older Housing Boom Expected in China, US Operators Look for Opportunities

The Wall Street Journal is reporting the number of Chinese over 60 years old is on pace to exceed the entire population of the U.S. by 2050.

The big change has caught the eye of U.S. senior-housing developers like Emeritus Corp., Life Care Services LLC, hedge-fund giant Fortress Investment Group LLC and even John C. Erickson, an industry pioneer whose empire of retirement communities toppled in the wake of the financial crisis to head to China in search of an opportunity.

According to the article:

In January, about 30 Chinese business representatives toured retirement communities in Arizona and Maryland and attended a lunch held for them at the annual meeting of the American Seniors Housing Association in Phoenix.

At the lunch, the Chinese group presented U.S. senior-housing operators with some stark demographic trends: China already is home to 167 million people over the age of 60, more than the total population of France and Germany, while nearly half of older adults live alone. The number of Chinese senior citizens will increase by about eight million a year over the next five years, while their share of the total population will rise to 15% in 2015 from 12.5% in 2009, according to real-estate consultant DTZ.

Read the rest at the link below.

Housing Operators Put Focus on China

Category: International, News, Nursing Homes