JCH Senior Housing Investment Brokerage announced a big sale of a senior living community in Southern California in what is the second-largest single-asset transaction of 2019 (by price), so far. Totaling 214 units of independent living, assisted living and memory care, the community is located in the high barrier to entry Orange County. Occupancy was a strong 94%, and the community reported a remarkable 53% operating margin. It was previously owned by a national owner/operator, which decided to sell based on the current cap rate environment. Given the drop in average cap rates for both the assisted living and independent living markets, that reasoning makes sense.
After a confidential marketing process, JCH received several competitive bids in less than 30 days, with the seller ultimately selecting a national Chicago-based private equity firm very active in the seniors housing space. They retained the operator, which is a no-brainer given that impressive operating margin. Nick Stahler, Mike Mooney and Jim Hazzard handled the sale, which resulted in a $95.5 million, or $446,300 per unit, purchase price.
