Builders Ready to House Growing Baby Boomer Population

"It's a great time to develop senior housing," said Marilynn K. Duker, the president of Brightview Senior Living, a developer based in Maryland that has completed five new facilities since 2008 and has three others under construction. "As long as we can continue to get capital and have the ability to afford it, it's an opportunity and there isn't a lot of competition."

"That kind of financial performance gives banks confidence that senior housing is different from other sectors of the real estate sector," said William Pettit, president and chief of Merrill Gardens, a developer in Seattle. At the same time, David S. Schless, president of American Seniors Housing Association, says "It's certainly not for everyone, but there are companies that really understand the markets and submarkets, and they're very adept at building."