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Senior residing suppliers are taking a extra focused strategy to 2026 for asking and rental charges. It’s not a reset, however an evolution.
As operators notch enhancements in occupancy and resident satisfaction scores, they’re gaining pricing energy that aids their price progress methods.
Operators report that bigger models with extra sq. footage per structure are presently fashionable throughout the senior residing continuum, and components like rising acuity have led to extra needs-based demand in assisted residing and reminiscence care. Latest information exhibits operators have extra pricing energy over impartial residing models, which helps them goal extra prosperous and lively older adults for these settings.
Merrill Gardens Senior Dwelling stabilized its occupancy figures roughly 18 months in the past, and now the Seattle-based operator is transferring towards a extra nuanced and market-specific rental price strategy in 2026, in line with COO Jason Childers.
“The objective is absolutely the identical,” Childers mentioned. “It’s how we are able to optimize our price progress potential, given the product we provide, the demand we’re experiencing and the native market circumstances we’re going through.” .
In 2026, senior residing operators together with Merrill Gardens, 12 Oaks Senior Dwelling and The Aspenwood Firm are going through altering price dynamics and adjusting on the fly to adapt their promoting methods.
Robust demand permits suppliers to ‘micromanage’ charges
Within the final 5 years, senior residing operators have grappled with a number of components necessitating resident lease will increase, similar to rising costs on items and gear for operations and maintaining with increased employees wages.
In 2024, Dallas, Texas-based 12 Oaks grew resident charges on common by 10.4%, and this yr it grew resident charges by an approximate 9.5% improve. Looking forward to 2026, occupancy is growing, and that can permit the corporate to “actually micromanage” will increase particular to unit kind with a give attention to “maximizing” income per obtainable room (RevPAR) within the new yr, in line with 12 Oaks President Greg Puklicz.
Diminished new provide and better occupancies are giving 12 Oaks the arrogance to shift from macro price strikes to a extra detailed strategy to price will increase by unit kind, degree of care and market.
Alternatively, The Aspenwood Firm lately took a extra conservative strategy to price progress, however with occupancy features stacking up during the last three years, the corporate’s leaders imagine it’s time to get extra “assertive” on charges. The corporate is transitioning from traditionally conservative will increase to a posture of “assured” price optimization, grounded in proof of demand and capturing that demand, in line with Vice President of Gross sales and Advertising and marketing Joshua Bentley.
“Crucial factor is to not compromise requirements, regardless of fluctuations which will have occurred in the fee panorama from labor, meals, provides, compliance and capital enhancements,” Bentley mentioned. “These prices are actual, and they’re rising exponentially.”
This yr’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Safety beneficiaries was 2.8%. On common, Social Safety retirement advantages will climb roughly $56 per thirty days beginning in January. This improve was decrease than anticipated, Puklicz mentioned, noting that operators should take this into consideration when adjusting charges subsequent yr.
Operators have outfitted gross sales employees with demonstrated enhancements in residents’ care development and are making the case for ending long-running concessions in favor of extra focused reductions when vital.
“It’s a must to watch out,” Childers mentioned. “When you push too laborious, and your occupancy begins to fall, that’s the most important driver of price progress potential.”
Renewals vs. avenue charges for 2026
12 Oaks is taking a extra aggressive price technique for renewals than on market charges. On the whole, 12 Oaks communities work with residents experiencing monetary strain, Puklicz mentioned.
For brand new move-ins, 12 Oaks is extra value aggressive and is intentionally shifting from providing recurring concessions to one-time instruments like neighborhood charge waiver, Puklicz added. Merrill Gardens is elevating rental charges between 4% and seven% for present residents and three% to eight% for brand spanking new residents, Childers mentioned. He famous the corporate is on the tail-end of 2025 “seeing extra value elasticity than ever earlier than.”
“We all know we’re going to have a few of these negotiations when it comes time,” Childers added.
Bentley famous that the manager director performs essentially the most essential function in serving to employees handle these robust conversations, with Aspenwood groups instructed to “lead with empathy but in addition the transparency of” the place charges must go so as to cowl rising prices.
“Our residents ought to reside fuller lives with us than they did earlier than,” Bentley mentioned, describing this as a approach to reframe price will increase when it comes to quality-of-life enhancements.
Merrill Gardens’ response for gross sales groups and govt administrators is to equip employees with assets and information to point out “what’s occurring and why costs are going up,” and 12 Oaks and Aspenwood take comparable approaches as price pushback emerges.
“The tougher dialog is the one we have now to have with our EDs than the EDs with the residents,” Puklicz added. “Generally it’s a matter of coaching and schooling when it comes to monetary efficiency.”
How price motion may differ throughout the continuum in 2026
Satisfaction scores for senior residing operators have continued to rise lately, and operators are adjusting to fulfill new demand throughout the continuum. In impartial residing settings, bigger unit varieties are hottest heading into the brand new yr, Puklicz mentioned.
“We regularly see a correlation between unit dimension, unit price and occupancy ranges,” Puklicz mentioned.
Aspenwood has reported “very robust price seize” for impartial residing models, with the power to push market charges “exponentially” between 6% and 10%, Bentley famous. Resulting from rising demand, having solely a handful of obtainable models permits gross sales groups to be assured, and that confidence can translate into a powerful tradition that prospects need to transfer into, Childers mentioned.
In assisted residing, operators see a extra modest price strategy forward on account of increased value sensitivity and a heavier give attention to affordability, Bentley mentioned, with assisted residing price will increase averaging 4% to six% in 2026. The steadiness find the fitting price technique versus the affordability of assisted residing will form higher-acuity settings within the years forward, Puklicz mentioned. In reminiscence care, file demand and pricing proceed to climb.
“In reminiscence care we’re seeing file excessive demand, however we’re seeing highs on pricing. We’re nonetheless growing these charges on market anyplace from 5% to 7%,” Bentley mentioned.
This demand has allowed Merrill Gardens to additionally improve charges in reminiscence care, Childers added. Puklicz expects the development of bigger models, particularly two-bedroom or giant one-bedroom models, to proceed in 2026, as they’re in “nice demand,” he mentioned.
Prospects of Aspenwood’s new developments in Nashville, Tennessee and Charlotte, North Carolina, are requesting mixed models, and they’re “prepared to pay a premium value for it,” Bentley mentioned.
This has carried out west in Merrill Gardens’ sphere of affect, with some communities in a position to push two-bedroom models 15% above present market charges on account of robust, sustained demand for bigger areas.
Trying forward, Puklicz believes the senior residing gross sales mannequin has completely shifted from transactional promotion to extra relationship-based advisory promoting.
“The times of pulling out the balloons on Saturday and providing $500 off are simply over,” Puklicz mentioned, referencing operators’ must evolve their promoting techniques to depend on market-by-market promoting patterns over outdated advertising techniques.
With a view to obtain robust pricing energy, Childers mentioned Merrill Gardens communities and the broader business “should earn the pricing energy every single day” by bringing hospitality, care and sustaining model repute to create a powerful base of glad, blissful residents.
“The residents, they change into your ambassadors,” Childers added.
In 2026 and past, Childers mentioned the times of normal 3% to five% will increase is perhaps over, however operators should verify their pricing energy and resident pushback on charges earlier than biting off an aggressive improve.
Aspenwood anticipates continued room to push charges, particularly in impartial and reminiscence care, so long as the worth story and operational supply stay robust, Bentley mentioned.
