Did you know there is a seasonal demand for all senior care communities? Although there is always a demand for senior care communities at all levels, the peak demand is January and February. The lowest demand is between June and August, throughout the warm and sunny summer months. As we move through the Fall and toward the end of the year, demand increases each month. Then, 2 things happen:
- The holidays happen. Families gather for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s celebrations and realize there is a problem. Mom can’t be left alone, Dad needs a lot more help than we ever thought… Families have meetings and discuss options, then many decide to search for a senior care community after the holidays.
- A natural increase in illness. After the first of the year, the flu breaks out, people get pneumonia, fall on ice and break hips, the hospitals are overflowing with patients… all heck breaks out with a natural spike in demand!
When you combine a natural increase in illness with a pent-up, newly realized, delayed demand, the result is the highest demand for all senior care communities of the year. It begins in the second week of January. There are literally thousands of family members entering the market looking for independent living, residential care, assisted living, Home Plus, and long term care for their elderly loved ones. If you don’t get there first, you may encounter lengthy waiting lists. This is why we always coach our clients to proactively conduct their search and make their selection in advance of this peak demand.
What happens after the peak demand in January and February? The demand decreases each month then levels out at the low point in the summer. Then, the cycle repeats itself… I like to refer to this as an inverse bell curve, but the bell is not very deep, so it looks more like a cereal bowl. When considering moving to a senior care community, it is important to know about the seasonal demand for all levels of care.