COVID preventative measures and case counts are important factors that continued to drive the short-term demand and supply in the senior housing sector, according to Moody's Analytics' Q3 2021 National Seniors Housing Quarterly View.

It's "happy to pronounce that the market recovery has been sustained and is accelerating" spurred by the solid 130 bps vacancy decline, which marked the highest quarterly drop in nearly a decade.

At the same time, the sector is adapting to the grim realities of the pandemic.  According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service, the report stated, more than 86% of the nursing home residents and over 73% of staff are fully vaccinated nationwide. Confirmed Covid cases and deaths in Q3 2021 were higher than Q2 due to the surge of Delta variant, but the magnitude was nowhere near the peak of the previous waves.