ANNAPOLIS, MD-The National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry is reporting a decline in occupancy rates for independent living and a marked decrease in the pace of rent growth during Q2.

The news isn’t all bad for the sector of the real estate industry, however, occupancy rates rose for assisted living. The organization’s data also showed the first rise in trailing 12-month construction starts since Q1 of 2009 for seniors housing in both the independent and assisted living categories, mainly for entrance-fee Continuing Care Retirement Centers.

The average occupancy rate for assisted living properties in Q2 2010 was 88.3%, up from 87.8% in Q1. Occupancy rates, however, fell to 87.4% for independent living properties during the second quarter of 2010, down from 87.5% in Q1 and 88% a year ago.

Michael Hargrave, vice president of NIC MAP, says that there are signs the industry is nearing bottom even as the occupancy rate for independent living declines. "For example, during the past year the independent living occupancy rate is down 0.6 percentage points, compared to the previous four quarters when it was averaging a decline of 1.85 percentage points,” he notes.

Skilled nursing, another category in this space, posted 88.6% occupancy this past quarter, down from 88.9% last quarter and 89.2% the year before. Rent growth for seniors housing, meanwhile, is still positive, although it showed marked signs of a slowdown in Q2. For both independent and assisted living, the year-over-year rent growth was 0.7%.