Senior living in Europe is an opportunity for US investors

Jennifer Dixon, founder and chief executive officer of JD Solutions Group, said the European senior living sector offers a significant opportunity for US investors as demographic pressures and low penetration rates begin to reshape demand across the region.

Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, she said the level of global interest remains striking.

“There were so many different takeaways from [the] sessions and I think what was really surprising to me is that there is still just an incredible amount of interest and opportunity in the senior living market when we speak to that globally,” she said.

Dixon noted that the US market has already undergone consolidation and a rise in investor sophistication. “In the United States, we’ve seen significant condensing of operators and investment and we’ve seen a real sophistication on the part of investors in terms of understanding how they look at the data and their own operating structure,” she said. “So, that’s been really interesting to look at and it’ll be an interesting theme to see as investors from all over the world and from the US come into this market — what that will play out as.”

She said American investors looking towards Europe need to understand regional nuances. “The more that US and American investors can understand the opportunities in the European and the German market, the market in Spain, the market in UK — it’s important for them to understand some of the nuances of those markets to be able to feel confident and investing there,” she said.

A key part of that, she added, is recognising the strength of the local operators already active in the market. “There are great and fantastic operators who are already in the space right now in Europe. And that’s been my greatest takeaway of meeting some of these incredible operators and learning about the things that they are doing.”

Dixon highlighted the scale of the opportunity by comparing penetration rates. “If you were just to look at the numbers right now, when you look at the market penetration in the United States can be anywhere from maybe 6% on the low end, all the way up to 12, 13, 14% in some heavily dense markets,” she said.

By contrast, she said, the figure in Europe remains far lower. “When you take that and you compare it to looking at the markets in Europe — I believe the number I heard was less than 1% in terms of market penetration, that’s an incredible opportunity,” she said. “And if you pair that with looking at the incoming wave of boomers who are coming right now, it’s very similar across the board.”

She said the shortage of housing options for seniors is now becoming a global issue. “We are facing a shortage of housing options for our seniors. And, so, this is a problem that we can all work together to solve,” she said. “There are many misperceptions and misconceptions about senior living.”

Even in the US, she added, misunderstanding persists. “And even in an advanced market like the United States where senior living has been around for a long time, there is still this false perception that it isn’t about independence, it isn’t about preventative health. It isn’t about any of those things,” she said.

Looking ahead, Dixon said the messaging around senior living needs to reflect its real purpose. “When we look at the messages that we have to carry, we have to understand how senior housing can help support that,” she said. “What we’re looking at is how do we help our residents, our seniors live longer, live stronger, live very vibrant lives.”