As housing numbers, for both single and multifamily continue to improve, it’s interesting to look at what the long-term predictions could be telling us. One facet that is more relevant now that construction of living spaces is increasing, is just where the increases are, and how the new, projected numbers compare to what actually happened between 2000 and 2010.

The Wall Street Journal tells the whole story here, but the highlights go like this. From 2000 through 2010 the top two cities in household growth were Houston and Atlanta. Those two are expected to still lead the pack from now through 2017. Five of the top ten cities for household growth are predicted to be in Texas to include - Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth. New York showed up on the top 10 list this year at spot number five while Las Vegas and Orlando dropped off. Fort Worth debuted in slot number 10 while Washington moved from sixth place to third. The larger trend for the immediate future though is that new households being formed will most often move into apartments or condos.

The other trend that bears watching is what’s happening with senior accommodations. According to this article, construction of housing for seniors is down 100 percent since the early years of the crash. This is not a good sign since the senior population is increasing at a rapid pace and is expected to do so for the next 40 years. If they aren’t going to move in with the kids, there will have to be some renovations and new construction put into place. Seniors in the US will double in population size between now and 2050 to more than 90 million. At the forefront of the accommodations needed will be assisted living and skilled nursing homes. That’s because seniors are staying in their homes longer so that by the time they enter senior housing, they are less able to care for themselves. Somewhat less in demand, but perhaps a long term trend, will be the need for memory care centers for those seniors suffering from dementia and other memory problems. Those facilities are incorporating technology to help manage their populations. That includes wristband GPS on the seniors while staff members use iPads to track their whereabouts.

It seems that REITs may be leading the charge on senior housing as they scramble to build portfolios of completed projects.