One would think that the newer skilled nursing facilities would sell with lower cap rates, but that has not always been the case. As can be seen in the graph below (from the just-published 23rd Edition of The Senior Care Acquisition Report), in three of the past five years those nursing facilities over 40 years old sold with the highest average cap rate, and in the two years when they didn’t, all the cap rates were closely clustered.
The youngest nursing facilities (less than 20 years old) did not produce the lowest cap rates in many of the years, however. The main reason for this is that when some buyers look at the new skilled nursing facilities, they may be paying a high price per bed because of the age and maybe the patient mix, but that high price per bed comes with many risks and they won’t lower their cap rate because of the risks that come with a high basis, such as very high lease rates or mortgage costs.
