The Silver Tsunami Has Arrived

This isn’t a forecast. The population aged 75 and older is already growing at three times its historical rate. This group uses healthcare services far more than younger adults—and their numbers will keep climbing for decades.

For retail property owners, that means one thing: steady, rising demand for medical-adjacent space.

How Much Healthcare Do They Use?

A lot. Americans aged 75 and older visit doctors twice as often as those aged 45–64. They fill prescriptions at five times the rate. They need more imaging, more specialist visits, more physical therapy, and more chronic disease management.

None of this is optional. Unlike retail spending, which rises and falls with consumer confidence, healthcare for older adults stays flat through recessions.

People don’t skip dialysis because the stock market dropped. That stability makes medtail tenants remarkably resilient—and it makes the demographic tailwind behind them even more compelling.

Why Retail Locations Win on Access

For older adults, getting to the doctor is often harder than seeing the doctor.

Mobility challenges, vision problems, and fatigue turn a routine appointment into an ordeal—especially at sprawling medical campuses with long walks from parking and confusing wayfinding.

Retail solves this. Parking sits steps from the entrance. Single-story layouts eliminate elevator waits.

The environment feels familiar, not clinical. And when the pharmacy is next door, patients fill prescriptions on the way out—no second trip required.

These aren’t minor conveniences. For a 78-year-old managing three chronic conditions, they’re the difference between keeping appointments and skipping them.

Healthcare systems know this, which is why the best operators are actively seeking retail space.

What to Do Now

Audit your trade area demographics. Properties near high concentrations of 65+ residents—especially 75+—have a built-in advantage for recruiting medical tenants.

Lead with accessibility features in your marketing: ADA compliance, ground-floor access, proximity to parking, and pharmacy co-tenancy.

Map your portfolio against aging projections.

Markets experiencing rapid demographic shifts will see growing medical demand for the next 15–20 years. Position now, before cap rate compression prices you out.

CONTACT US NOW!

(213) 880-8107  |  francisco.williams@williamscap.ai  |  williamscapitaladvisors.com