Calvin Schnure, Senior Vice President, Research & Economic Analysis for Nareit shares with us his thoughts on the 2021 senior housing market.

• Impact of the pandemic on senior living communities
  • What has been the impact on occupancy rates?
  • What has been the financial impact of this on the communities?
  • What is driving this lower demand? Is it preference or fear of COVID, or are there bigger macroeconomic factors at play here like unemployment?
• What makes the recession caused by this pandemic different from other historical recessions?
  • What will the impact of this difference be on senior living real estate specifically?
• What have been the most effective ways senior living communities curbed the spread of the pandemic?
  • What role does educating the residents play in keeping viral spread to a minimum?
  • What has been the most effective way to communicate the danger to seniors living in these communities?
  • Has this varied based on the health level of the seniors? For example, I imagine it’d be much more difficult to explain the seriousness of the pandemic to a senior with cognitive impairment or a memory disorder.
• Prior to the pandemic, what did you think the future of the senior housing sector would be?
  • Did the pandemic change this course, or simply accelerate it?
  • Do you think the pandemic will accelerate industry consolidation among operators of senior living facilities? Why?
• Once we move past the pandemic, what issues will we still be facing in senior housing?
  • Modern facilities attract a younger crowd, but what problems will communities targeted at the age 80+ face?

Calvin Schnure
Senior Vice President, Research & Economic Analysis

Calvin Schnure is Senior Vice President, Research & Economic Analysis, and joined Nareit in March 2011. He analyzes developments in the macro economy and their impact on REITs and commercial property markets, and on financial returns to REITs. He monitors performance of mortgage REITs and conditions in the U.S. mortgage market. He also conducts original research on REITs' stock market returns and economic fundamentals.

Calvin began his professional career in the 1990s as Economist at the Federal Reserve Board. While at the Fed he analyzed the non-bank financial sectors for the Flow of Funds Accounts, corporate profits and commercial paper markets in the Capital Markets group, and also analyzed business fixed investment, including capital spending on nonresidential structures, for the Fed's economic forecast. Subsequently he was Vice President for US Economics at JPMorganChase, where he analyzed and forecast economic and financial market conditions, and advised senior management and clients. He was Senior Economist at the International Monetary Fund from 2002 through 2006, and Director of Economic Analysis at Freddie Mac from 2006 through 2011.

Calvin earned a B.A. in Economics from Williams College, a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

He can be contacted at [email protected]

You can also watch our interview on Youtube: https://youtu.be/owrPEUe4nQQ