• Brookdale’s Summer Test Ahead

    Brookdale Senior Living reported its March occupancy results, and it unfortunately took another step in the wrong direction. We will get a better read when peers report first-quarter results and when NIC MAP releases its next tranche of occupancy data, but at this point, it seems as though Brookdale will need a particularly strong performance... Read More »
  • Public REIT Acquires New England Seniors Housing Portfolio

    Blueprint announced that it handled the sale of a three-community private pay seniors housing portfolio in Rhode Island. A Dallas-based private equity firm engaged Blueprint in 2025 to sell the portfolio, which it acquired with Capital Health Group in 2019. The assets comprise 367 independent living, assisted living and memory care units in the... Read More »
  • Regional Owner/Operator Exits Senior Care Industry

    Senior Living Investment Brokerage completed a regional owner/operator’s exit from the seniors housing industry with a third and final disposition. The asset was The Homestead in Fallon, Nevada, about one hour east of Reno. It was originally built between 1972 and 1980 and has undergone significant renovations in 2007 and 2018. Most recently, in... Read More »
  • Well-Performing SNF Trades in Iowa

    A skilled nursing facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that boasted strong occupancy levels and consistent cash flow traded hands. The facility had long-standing referral relationships and a reliable census pipeline. But, there is still room for upside.  Ownership was intentional in selecting a buyer that would preserve and build upon the facility’s... Read More »
  • Class-A Active Adult Community Trades

    An active adult community north of Houston, Texas, sold with the help of Cody Tremper, Mike Garbers, Ross Sanders and Dave Fasano of Berkadia Seniors Housing & Healthcare. Alders Magnolia encompasses 184 units in Magnolia, and was built in 2021. The seller was Capitol Seniors Housing, and the buyer was Texas-based active adult development and... Read More »
60 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Brookdale Senior Living, What’s Next?

60 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Brookdale Senior Living, What’s Next?

So, the big vote occurred last week, and shareholders of Brookdale Senior Living have spoken. We are sure that the recent increases in occupancy convinced some shareholders to stick with management and its “plan.” But the nominees from activist shareholder Ortelius Advisors were not off-the-wall candidates. It was an excellent group, and despite what Brookdale stated, again and again, they would have provided a new perspective and a lot of expertise. The current and temporary CEO could have learned from several of them, specifically Steven Vick, Steven Insoft and Lori Whitman. Oh well, a lost opportunity for many of the shareholders. Not to mention other members of the management team, the... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: The Great Debates of Senior Care

60 Seconds with Swett: The Great Debates of Senior Care

Next week for our Second Quarter Investor Call, sponsored by Ziegler, we’ll be trying something different that is sure to be both entertaining and useful for our audience of operators, investors, brokers, lenders and everyone else. We’ll be tackling The Great Debates of Senior Care, covering some of the most important issues facing the industry. Like will we see a shortage of seniors housing units by 2030, or will consumer preferences and affordability limit future demand? Are cap rates currently too low and aren’t covering operating risk appropriately? Should you build or buy right now? What has been the most transformational new technology in seniors housing operations? And others. There... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: M&A Activity Tops 350 Deals in H1:25

60 Seconds with Swett: M&A Activity Tops 350 Deals in H1:25

In the second quarter of 2025, there were 176 publicly announced transactions, a preliminary number that is almost certain to increase in the weeks ahead. That brings our total for the first half of the year to 355 deals, or 710 on an annualized basis. Considering we finished 2024 with 716 total deals, which was a record by far, we are in a good place for deal activity. After a slow May with 47 deals, we wondered if we would even have a chance of breaking 700 transactions for the year. But June bounced back with 64 deals, including some large portfolio deals. Looking at the second quarter, however, trouble may be brewing. Breaking out U.S. M&A activity, 2024 finished with 593 deals in... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: M&A Activity Tops 350 Deals in H1:25

60 Seconds with Swett: The Fight between Brookdale and Ortelius

It has been a bit amusing to see both Brookdale Senior Living and Ortelius Advisors claim victory with Institutional Shareholder Services’ report on the upcoming July 11th stockholders vote on the new slate of directors for the Board. For Ortelius, ISS recommended voting for Steven Vick and Lori Wittman, two of the six nominees that Ortelius put forth in March, while also acknowledging the benefit of Ortelius’s efforts on initiating needed change at Brookdale. Meanwhile, Brookdale rejoiced at ISS effectively recommending that shareholders’ not hand control of the Board to Ortelius by only supporting two of the six nominees and pointing out Ortelius’s lack of details in the turnaround plan... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: M&A Activity Tops 350 Deals in H1:25

60 Seconds with Swett: HUD’s Express Lane and M&A

We’re not used to sensible reforms coming out of Washington, D.C., but HUD has just come out with a new “Express Lane” for the Section 232 Residential Care Facilities program. Obviously, we don’t want any facilities or borrowers that shouldn’t receive a loan to slip through the cracks, not that you can always predict a future disaster. But so many HUD loan processes sought by repeat-borrowers are a foregone conclusion, and we think with the guardrails in place, this is a great idea. Those guardrails apply to the loan terms, the facility quality and the borrower itself. Also, all of the criteria have to be met to qualify. Some of the highlights include a maximum 70% loan-to-value, minimum... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: M&A Activity Tops 350 Deals in H1:25

60 Seconds with Swett: May M&A Activity Slumps

Earlier this year, M&A activity was continuing at a record pace after 2024 finished with 714 deals for the year, an annual record by far. February, March and April all exceeded 60 transactions each, peaking in March with 69 deals and average 780 annualized deals across that three-month period. But we were a little surprised when dealmaking plummeted in May to 46 transactions, the lowest monthly total since February 2024. Looking at only U.S. deals, the decline has been steadier, going from 57 deals in March to 46 in April to 35 in May, the lowest domestic monthly total since September 2023. Dealmaking is always cyclical, with waves of listings and closings ebbing and flowing. And we’ve... Read More »