Development booms have come and gone in the U.S. seniors housing industry over the past 20 years. In the late 1990s, the construction wave was fueled by Wall Street investors. Another building boom occurred from 2004 to 2007 when all forms of real estate were awash in capital just prior to the Great Recession. Now the seniors housing industry is in the midst of another burst of construction activity, most notably in Texas. So, how does the sharp upturn in new construction over the past few years compare with previous boom times? “I would say it’s quite similar,” said Patricia Will, founder and CEO of Houston-based Belmont Village Senior Living. “That is to say in places where it’s relatively easy to develop, there is lots of open land. When you combine that with the kind of liquidity we see now and we saw in the mid-2000s and in the late 1990s, you are going to get what I would characterize as oversupply. This cycle is no different in that respect. There isn’t sufficient institutional memory to discipline both equity and debt when it comes to putting capital out. “ Will’s remarks came before an audience of over 240 industry professionals …
