Retirement facility administrators here say the real estate market malaise and economic slump that have taken a heavy toll on most other market sectors also have crimped their sales of living units and in some cases have caused apartment rentals to weaken.

The problem isn't just one of people being unable to sell their homes to obtain the additional cash they often need to move into retirement centers, the administrators say, but rather also is due to investment losses they've suffered and the greater overall uncertainty they have about their future financial security. In addition, some say, more retirees are moving in with their children, or having financially strapped children move in with them, for cost-saving reasons, which has caused them to postpone their plans to move into a retirement facility.

"People are just so much more cautious," says Barbara Knutson, administrator of Fairwood Retirement Village, at 312 W. Hastings. "We haven't had as many move-ins as we've had (in the past). We're having to work more with our residents on a time line for when they can pay to get in. It has affected us."

The 220-unit Fairwood complex, which sits on a 20-acre wooded site and offers both independent- and assisted-living accommodations, currently has more than 20 living units vacant, Knutson says, adding, "We normally only have four or five at most available at one time, so that's quite a bit."

Living units at Fairwood are priced from a little over $100,000 to several hundred thousand dollars, and in good times typically sit on the market for less than six months when they become available, she says. Since last October, though, that period of vacancy has grown to where they now are on the market "at least six months longer," she says.

In response to the softer market, Fairwood hasn't lowered the prices of its living units, but has strived to be as flexible as possible in its financial arrangements with residents and prospective residents to keep them there or to help them move in, Knutson says.

"We feel we're pretty well priced—we're competitively priced—and we feel good about our product. We've just been working with payment schedules more than anything," she says.

Knutson says she has a list of people who want to move into the Fairwood complex, but who have said they intend to delay doing so until the real estate market improves or the economy regains enough strength to make them more confident about their personal finances.

Ann Byers, executive director of the 160-unit Harbor Crest Retirement Community, at 3117 E. Chaser Lane, says, "We've got a couple of more (vacant units) than we usually do, and people are taking longer to make a decision. They're really shopping for deals," since some retirement facilities now are offering incentives, such as months of free or reduced rent, to try to attract new residents.

"It's due mainly to the real estate market," Byers says. "A lot of people who want to move in are not able to sell their homes. People just keep saying, 'I'm going to stay in my home a little longer because I can't afford to sell it and take a loss.' Numbers are down, I think, across the board for everyone."

Retirement facilities also are being hit in that fewer people are coming to them from nursing homes, because nursing home occupancy rates also are down, she says. These days, nursing homes tend to serve more as rehabilitation centers than long-term care facilities, and thus they've become a good source of residents for retirement communities, she adds.

With people watching their money more closely, new residents also are being more frugal about the size of living unit they choose, Byers says. When the economy was stronger, Harbor Crest rarely would have a two-bedroom unit become vacant, but lately it has had larger units like that sit empty "more than we ever have in the past," she says.

"We know we're in a strong industry, though. It's a good field to be in," and it will rebound, Byers says confidently. Until then, she says, "We will work with people if they're struggling financially, particularly our own residents, to make sure they're able to stay here."

Fewer people looking

John "J.R." Renner, general manager of Fairwinds Spokane, a 152-unit retirement facility at 520 E. Holland, says, "We're very fortunate. We ended last month at 98 percent occupied, so we're really lucky in that sense. The other side of that is there are fewer people contacting us, and those who are are looking at longer terms. Their homes aren't selling. I'm finding that we have to work with those people more one on one, for a greater length of time."

On the brighter side, he says he's noticed "that people are realizing, if they have the means, they're not quite as scared as they were a few months ago," and more of them are moving into Fairwinds even if they haven't sold their homes yet.

"We will work with people on a one-to-one basis" to try to reach agreeable financial terms, but the North Side facility hasn't lowered its rates in response to the softer demand, Renner says. In fact, it raised them 3 percent this year, but that was down from an earlier planned 5 percent increase, he says.

"We've seen a number of people who've had to leave our community and move in with children" for financial reasons, he says, adding, "A lot of residents seem to be moving farther distances to be closer to family."

He and others interviewed say that, in some cases, it's the seniors who need the financial help, but in others, it's the children, and many children now are able to care for their elders because they've lost their jobs and are at home more.

Christie Hoffman, director of community relations at the Riverview Retirement Community, at 1801 E. Upriver Drive, says things there were slow for a while at the beginning of this year, but have picked up in recent months and, "We are still at very high occupancy."

The Riverview Village independent-living development, with about 150 homes, is 98 percent full, and the retirement complex's independent- and assisted-living apartments, which are rented on a month-to-month basis, are about 94 percent occupied, about the same as a year ago, Hoffman says.

"We're still giving a lot of tours, and have a good healthy waiting list of people," she says, but adds, "People on the waiting list are a little bit hunkered down. We're just trying to make it easy to make the transition."

Those incentives include payment of $1,000 in moving costs and two hours with a home stager to help people make their homes look more attractive so they sell faster. Also, Hoffman says, "We can be pretty flexible extending time periods (for upfront payments), if people are in escrow or whatever."

She says, "It used to be cash on the barrelhead. We are definitely not as black and white as before, which I think is fine. It's a different ballgame than it was."

Alan Curryer, president and CEO of Rockwood Retirement Communities, one of Spokane's largest retirement facility operators, says the recession and real estate market slump have "had some impact, but when you look at sales and occupancy, the impact hasn't been that significant."

He says occupancy at The Ridge, the 105-unit apartment complex formerly named Rockwood Manor that's located on the big Rockwood South complex at 2903 E. 25th, is down about 7 percent so far this year, compared with a year ago, but Rockwood's other developments are running "about at our historical average." For example, its adjacent Rockwood Forest Estates 165-cottage independent-living neighborhood is about 97 percent occupied, he says.

In response to the tough economy, though, he says, Rockwood in January launched a special incentive program on both its South Hill campus and at its 85-unit Rockwood at Hawthorne facility, at 101 E. Hawthorne on Spokane's North Side, that includes modest pricing reductions and an interest-free deferral of entry fees for up to two years. "To give them time to sell their homes, basically is what it is," he says. To alleviate financial uncertainty, Rockwood also lengthened a full money-back guarantee to one year, up from 90 days previously.

"All of those are probably temporary measures," Curryer says.

Rockwood Retirement Communities announced earlier this week that it's considering adding a second tower of independent-living apartments and renovating The Ridge, its original tower there, along with making other upgrades at a total estimated cost of about $90 million. Curryer says Rockwood had hoped to begin holding a series of informational meetings about that big project last October, but postponed them—in a further nod to the sluggish economy—and instead kicked them off last month.

What with the uncertainty now prevalent in prospective residents' lives, he says he's noticed that they "seem to value more the security of retirement-community living. Their interest seems to be piqued now in how we can reduce those risks." For example, he says, "We never ask people to leave if they run out of money," and prospective residents seem to be paying more heed to the economies of scale, dining services, and professional management that such facilities provide.

"That's one silver lining for our industry, I think," he says.

Despite the tougher times for the retirement-housing industry, Curryer says, "I sense things have already begun to improve, and I think by maybe this time next year, things will have greatly improved."