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There’s hope on the horizon for “houselocked” homeowners.

In recent months, steep declines in house values have sapped home equity and forced many older people to postpone planned moves into retirement housing or assisted living.

Plenty of vacancies

As a result, senior housing facilities face rising vacancy rates and a smaller pool of applicants with ready cash. They are responding by discounting rooms, waiving deposits and fees, and offering families financial assistance to weather a temporary cash crunch.

Other savings are also available—especially for those who know what to ask for.

Nationally, “85 percent of seniors pay for their own care with personal savings and the sale of or equity from a home, so the crisis in the housing market has had an enormous impact,” says Paul Williams, senior director of government relations for the Assisted Living Federation of America.

Occupancy rates dropped to the 90 percent range nationwide in the last half of 2008 and have stayed there. In areas where the housing slump is steepest, such as southern coastal Florida, vacancy rates are as high as 20 or 30 percent, Williams says.

Steep discounts and  incentives

In those areas, facilities are holding what amounts to a fire sale, with steep discounts and incentives to attract older residents.

The deals are more common at continuing-care retirement communities and other businesses catering to younger, healthier retirees. Such people have more leverage because they can better afford to wait out hard times in their own houses than those forced by medical issues to urgently seek assisted living or a nursing home.

“We’re seeing more and more [continuing-care community] companies being proactive and responsive to this situation by taking steps to lower the barrier to entry such as reducing entry fees, or offering coupons for the first month’s rent or for moving fees,” says Eve M. Stern, president of SNAPforSeniors, a Seattle-based service for those seeking senior housing. “We’re even seeing some communities that only took private-pay clients two months ago now accepting Medicaid.”

Whether you need to move now or are simply considering your options, the discounts, special offers and financing arrangements are worth a look.

Here are some of the options all bargain-savvy retirees should ask about:

• Waiving or reducing deposits. It used to be standard for senior housing facilities to require large deposits, sometimes totaling as much as a year’s worth of housing costs. Now many will waive or reduce such fees if you ask.

• Deferring payments or fees. This can be particularly helpful when it comes to the enormous entrance fees charged by continuing-care retirement communities, which are meant to be paid up front for the health services most seniors will need to access as they age. Many communities will now let residents defer such fees for up to six months after they move in.

• Assistance with financial planning, selling your home, or moving. This is one of the hottest trends of all: Companies may provide financial advisers or real estate agents who can sell a home for you, or they may reimburse your moving expenses.

• Waiving community fees. These one-time fees are for administrative costs and property maintenance, and usually equal one month’s rent. They’re supposed to be mandatory, and facilities are cautious about advertising discounts because the members already living there paid them. But many will now waive such fees if you ask. Smaller residential facilities may be more flexible on this point.

• Nonpremium rooms. Many facilities have rooms that are less desirable for various reasons—maybe they are a longer walk from the dining room, have courtyard rather than garden views or don’t have outside access. Those rooms can be much less expensive, but they may not be the first ones you’re shown. Ask to see the full range of options.

• Studios or shared rooms. Many facilities offer very small studio units, and some offer “companion rates” for shared rooms, which can save a great deal of money. This may not be everyone’s first choice, but some single seniors find they can sacrifice private space for shared group amenities, and some find they enjoy not living alone once they try sharing. New facilities under construction and those in the process of remodeling are most likely to offer studios and shared rooms, according to Robert Kramer, president of the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry.

• Looking further afield. Rates for senior living facilities­—particularly assisted living and nursing homes—vary more widely than most people realize. In New York and the surrounding area, for example, a private single room in a Medicare-certified nursing home costs an average of $590 a day, while the same room in Lafayette, La., costs just $118 a day. Of course, no one’s suggesting you move across the country to take advantage of affordable housing. But research all options within 100 miles of your chosen location; see whether savings are available a few towns over.

• Long-term stability. One risk in the current discount-happy market is that some financially strapped facilities might not survive. “One thing I’d warn people is that if an operator is doing things that show desperation, they may not be in business very long,” notes Kramer. Both he and Paul Williams of the Assisted Living Federation recommend choosing a facility just as you would have in a normal market—making sure you get every available discount while you have the leverage to bargain.

Melanie Haiken, a freelancer based in the San Francisco Bay area, writes about health, business, money and travel.