• 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 »
Negative Operating Margins for SNFs?

Negative Operating Margins for SNFs?

Always be careful about terminology in health care, and make sure you understand what things mean, like operating margin. It is always important to understand the definitions of certain terms, especially when it comes to health care. There has been a lot of news lately about how the median “operating margin” for skilled nursing facilities nationally has now sunk below zero. I have to admit, this drives me crazy. The implication is that for the median nursing facility, it is operating at a breakeven level….from operations. Operations are usually defined as labor, food, maintenance, utilities, basically everything that is needed to “operate” the facility. As I said last week, if half... Read More »
Negative Operating Margins for SNFs?

Required Staffing Increases, Now?

This is no time for Congress to start penalizing skilled nursing facilities and raising staffing minimums. Are people in our nation’s capital really that out of touch with reality on the ground? Yes. Finding quality staff is hard enough in skilled nursing facilities, but then getting reimbursed to pay for them is even harder. So, my senator from Connecticut is a co-sponsor of the Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents Act. Now, who doesn’t want quality care for nursing home residents? I assume everyone, except those who would like to put the sector out of business.  For your standard 120-bed nursing facility, the bill proposes having three RNs om duty at night, four during the... Read More »
Negative Operating Margins for SNFs?

Recent Congressional Testimony

Skilled nursing gets hammered, again, in Congressional hearings, but they avoid the biggest problem: lack of funding. So, did you think I was going to talk about the impeachment hearings? No way. That would be too easy. I’m talking about hearings on the cost of caring for the elderly. Of course, a few of the people testifying had very little positive to say of nursing facilities and the quality of care. But what struck me as odd was that there was not one representative of the skilled nursing industry there. You would think that a large chain CEO might have been invited, or perhaps Mark Parkinson of the American Health Care Association. Maybe they were, but I kind of doubt it.... Read More »
Negative Operating Margins for SNFs?

Capital Senior Living Stock Spreads

One day this week the spread between the bid and the ask for Capital Senior Living’s shares seemed way too wide, which got me thinking. I was a little surprised yesterday morning when I checked on the bid/ask spreads for Capital Senior Living, and saw a very wide discrepancy after the market opened. There was a bid for 4,000 shares at $3.48 per share, while a seller was asking for $3.98 per share for a smaller number of shares.  I had not seen such a large difference between what a buyer wanted and a seller. I checked Brookdale Senior Living, and the spread was two cents. So, I re-looked at Capital Senior Living’s third quarter earnings to see what shareholders might be concerned... Read More »
Negative Operating Margins for SNFs?

The IL and CCRC Markets Rule

After suffering in the aftermath of the Great Recession, Independent Living and CCRC property values and occupancy levels have outperformed the rest of the market. Come and learn why and what may happen in the next recession. Sponsored by The Senior Care Acquisition Reports   We are 10 years into the recovery from the Great Recession, which had an outsized impact on the independent living and CCRC market because they are not need driven. Today, occupancy levels are higher than for assisted living and much higher than skilled nursing. Yet many investors, lenders and developers still shy away from these property types. Are they missing something? Next Thursday, November 14, we will be... Read More »
Negative Operating Margins for SNFs?

Of Ventas, Welltower and NIC

I know as one gets older, confusion can become more common. And today, I am a little confused about the state of the senior living industry. -Sponsored by The Senior Care Acquisition Reports   NIC MAP has reported that maybe we have hit bottom in the third quarter, and that new construction starts are starting to decline, even though new openings remain high. Assisted living occupancy, while posting a small sequential increase, still remains far too low to get excited, but bottoming out would be welcome news. Then, Ventas reported its third quarter earnings, painting a not-so-pretty picture. Their RIDEA operating portfolio has not been performing well, posting a 5.0% decline in... Read More »