• Brookdale Boosts Short Term Stability

    Brookdale Senior Living completed a series of financing transactions totaling approximately $600 million that refinanced all of its remaining 2026 mortgage debt and maturities, around $350 million, and a portion of 2027 mortgage debt maturities, approximately $200 million. The company also secured more fixed-rate debt, helping to cut rate risk.... Read More »
  • Ikaria Announces $1 Billion in Q4 Volume

    Ikaria Capital Group closed out a successful 2025, announcing several significant transactions in the fourth quarter that exceeded $1 billion in volume. The activity comprises financings in the seniors housing, skilled nursing and behavioral health sectors across multiple states and borrowers.  The largest deal was a $595.5 million senior... Read More »
  • PE Group Enters Oklahoma after Medicaid Rate Bump

    A skilled nursing facility in Oklahoma that recently benefited from the state’s Medicaid rate bump sold to a national private equity firm looking to enter the state. Built in 1967, Maplewood Care Center features 180 beds on over three acres in Tulsa. It is located close to several major hospitals and healthcare campuses, but occupancy was sitting... Read More »
  • Community Purchased through HUD Assumption

    Chad Mundy of the Knapp-Stahler Group of Marcus & Millichap sold an 82-unit assisted living/memory care community in Lewiston, Idaho. Built in phases in the early 2000s, the community featured five separate buildings, one of which was vacant after sustaining damage from a flood. As a result, occupancy was lower, based on the 89 licensed beds,... Read More »
  • The Zett Group Rounds Out Q4

    The Zett Group closed out Q4 with several closings in the Pacific Northwest. First was the sale of Fox Hollow, a 58-unit seniors housing community in Eugene, Oregon. Built in 1988 and renovated in 2003, the community features 51 assisted living units and seven independent living “cottage-style” units. Set in a nice area of Eugene, it was owned by... Read More »
Boosting Your Census Now

Boosting Your Census Now

Occupancy levels continue to decline, yet demand seems to be increasing as customers are coming back to take a look. There is a disconnect between the seller and the buyer that needs to be fixed now. The public companies are about to start releasing their earnings and census reports, and it may not be pretty. But, it does not have to stay that way. My gut tells me that a lot of sales staff have been blaming the virus on their inability to sell and fill units. Makes sense, right? But what if how they are selling, and communicating, or not communicating with customers, is the real problem?  Do you think management and salespeople have adapted to the new environment, the new mentality of... Read More »
Boosting Your Census Now

Long-Term Care Insurance Moratorium?

In a lack of wisdom, North Dakota legislators are considering a bill to ban long-term care insurance policy sales for three years. Just as Medicaid funding is getting stretched and the need for long-term care services will be increasing, North Dakota is apparently considering a bill that would impose a three-year ban on the sale of long-term care insurance policies. Really? The sponsors want to study the market and the history of premium increases. Great, and they have every right to do so, but to ban sales for three years while you “study the market”? Come on, how big is the market in North Dakota? Spend a week. Look, long-term care insurance is not perfect, and there are Cadillac... Read More »
The Vaccine and Census

The Vaccine and Census

The COVID-19 vaccine was supposed to solve the census crisis brought on by the virus, but it is not happening fast enough. Optimism still exists, however. A lot has been riding on the success of the vaccine rollout, for everyone personally as well as for the entire senior care industry. But I am worried. When I hear that certain areas are running out of vaccines, when I hear that it may not be as effective with some of the new strains entering our country, when I hear from some providers that up to 50% of their staff have decided not to get vaccinated, well, what does that say about how and when we will recover from this devastating virus? There is some optimism out there, with one... Read More »
Boosting Your Census Now

The Welltower Census Decline

Welltower’s seniors housing partners continue to suffer from census declines and operating costs. We do appreciate the transparency that Welltower has been providing investors, but boy does it provide a window onto what is happening. In its monthly update, Welltower informed us that it suffered its worst monthly census decline since May. December’s SHOP occupancy fell 100 basis points from November, compared with -70 basis points in November and -170 basis points in May. With the pandemic spreading, census dropped another 85 basis points to just 75.3% as of January 15. Not looking forward to everyone’s fourth quarter earnings calls. Move-ins were the lowest in six months, and... Read More »
Boosting Your Census Now

Assisted Living Is Not A Nursing Home

The media continues to throw all seniors housing into the nursing home basket. It has to stop now, especially in this time of COVID. Here I go again, or better yet, here goes the uninformed New York Times again. In a story last week called, “Voices From Inside Nursing Homes,” I didn’t know whether these would be the voices of workers, or the residents who felt isolated with little social interaction. It was mostly neither. It was voices from children of residents, and in two cases, the resident; one “voice” was that of a staffer. The problem was that most were not voices from nursing homes. They were from a residential care facility, a seniors housing complex, an assisted living community,... Read More »
Boosting Your Census Now

Active Adult: Is Now The Time

The active adult market may fill a lot of voids in seniors housing, including price points and attracting younger “seniors.” Join our webinar as we dissect the market with industry leaders and see how these new properties are trading in the market. First of all, Happy New Year. It has got to be better than the last one. The coronavirus pandemic has certainly disrupted the senior living industry, at least for now. Are consumers going to be afraid of moving into a senior living community once the vaccine is widely distributed? Will cost become a more  important factor for choosing the type of community to move into? How about paying for what you only want or need? These will... Read More »