NIC ON financing: Headed in the right direction

After several quarters of not-very-inspiring developments in capital markets, signs are growing ever stronger that long-term care has turned the corner. For example, permanent debt delinquencies decreased for skilled nursing in the first quarter of 2004, according to the NIC Key Financial Indicators compiled by the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industries. In addition to loan performance, the indicators give operators and investors a national snapshot of other financial and performance benchmarks, including loan volume, occupancy rates, move-in rates, and capitalization rates-and, again, things are looking up.