Assisted living is for people who want to live independently as long as they can, but who need help with their daily activities. They don't need constant care, but can't quite manage on their own. Many facilities also offer medical care, but it's not as intensive as nursing home care. An individual service plan is usually created for every resident upon entry into the community.

For real estate investors, this is a new niche to be capitalized upon. There are fewer assisted living communities than the demand requires. Most of the existing facilities provide either less assistance than residents need, or, like nursing homes, are meant for much frailer individuals. Demand is particularly high in upper and middle class neighborhoods located in major cities.

There are two different ways to create an assisted living development. One is through converting existing buildings, such as apartment complexes and retirement buildings. Converting these buildings requires an assessment of feasibility, since the interiors must usually be wholly renovated to provide easier access for the physically disabled. An on-call nursing staff must also be provided. Because of these requirements, owning an assisted living facility is more like owning a group of hotels than a conventional development. Because of this, developers who want to get involved in assisted living development should have some experience in health care or retirement fields, or be able to hire a management team that has this experience.

Pay attention to the location, design, and general character of your assisted living development, whether you're putting in a new facility or renovating an older building. A good question to ask yourself is where you'd like to live when you get old enough to require assisted living. Make sure that your feasibility study includes the local demographic in the area you're hoping to develop. Your assisted living development will look different depending on the age, income, and requirements of the prospective residents. Also, analyze any competing facilities in the area, since they'll have an impact on your project. Some projects have been overbuilt because of developer optimism, and haven't yet managed to reach a sustained occupancy.

Assisted living development is a great new field for real estate investors if you do your homework. You'll need to know who's moving in, what they can afford, and what their needs will be, as well as the usual development requirements. While there's some special skills required in running an assisted living facility, the right staff can go a long way towards eliminating problems. America's population is growing older, and soon, it will need a place to live. Opportunities in assisted living development only stand to increase as time goes on.