• Regional Owner/Operator Enters New State

    A regional owner/operator looking to enter the state of Indiana acquired Smith Farms Manor, an independent living community in Auburn, about 30 miles south of the Michigan border. Built in 1998, the community features 51 units and is well maintained. It sits on an attractive four-acre campus down the street from Parkview DeKalb Hospital and off... Read More »
  • Skilled Nursing Portfolio Gets New Operator

    Evans Senior Investments secured a new lease for a skilled nursing portfolio in Tennessee on behalf of an institutional owner. The portfolio features four assets and was operating below 70% occupancy with margins under 10%. Despite that performance, ESI secured a lease $3 million above in-place cash flow, reflecting the operational upside that... Read More »
  • Seniors Housing and Care M&A Remains Elevated in Q1:26

    The number of publicly announced seniors housing and care acquisitions in the first quarter of 2026 reached 231 deals, based on new acquisition data from LevinPro LTC. This represents a 19.8% decrease from the 288 transactions disclosed in the fourth quarter of 2025, but a 25.5% increase from the 184 deals in Q1:25.   “It was always going... Read More »
  • Clarion Acquires Again in Colorado

    Two years after opening a 160-unit seniors housing community in Centennial, Colorado (Denver MSA), MorningStar Senior Living announced an expanding relationship with Clarion Partners, a leading real estate investment company and specialty investment manager of Franklin Templeton, in its acquisition of MorningStar at Holly Park. The community... Read More »
  • 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 »
NIC Takeaways

NIC Takeaways

Record NIC attendance hints at continued investor and lender interest in seniors housing and care. It was yet another record crowd at the NIC Conference, which brings up a point I kept on making. If the headwinds are so strong, on many fronts, why are there still so many more people who want to invest, lend or operate in this business? The simple answer is good returns and an even better future, at some point. What were my takeaways? First, that there is just too much equity capital available. Think about that. Ten, 15 and 20 years ago, that statement would have been laughed at. Second, the skilled nursing sector appears to be primed to turn around before seniors housing. Why? There is... Read More »
NIC Takeaways

NIC, Valuations and Big Deals

Join me Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 pm as I moderate the NIC Valuations session. By the time you are watching this, I will be walking around the meeting rooms, receptions, and various sessions at the NIC Conference. And please join me today at 4:00 pm as I am moderating the session on valuations called, “What’s It Really Worth?” If you want to find out the answer, join us. But it is a very good question in today’s market, where capital is still abundant, but the 10-year Treasury rate has doubled in a year and a half. Occupancies are still weak across the board, but there are plenty of providers producing a healthy amount of cash flow. The minimum wage is rising across the country, but that... Read More »
Seniors Housing Occupancy Woes

Seniors Housing Occupancy Woes

Recent third quarter data was not promising, but are we looking at the wrong numbers? When NIC released its occupancy stats last week, people were hoping for good news. Hope, however, is not a business plan. The third quarter has historically been a “make-up” quarter, making up for the usual dismal first quarter and the now not-so-good second quarter. It didn’t happen this year, and as we head into the flu season, that is very troubling. What may be more troubling is that in the top 31 MSAs, assisted living unit growth is still at its highest levels since before 2006. And while moderating, assisted living construction as a percent of inventory is still higher than it has been in 13 years.... Read More »
NIC Takeaways

Near-Record Third Quarter M&A Volume

Heavy demand continues for properties across the seniors housing and care spectrum. I know I have been a little negative on the market in the past year or so, given all the problems we have seen and written about, not to mention peak pricing a year ago. I am not sure how to take it, but I guess people have not been listening. The acquisition activity continues unabated, with back to back quarters with more than 100 announced acquisitions each. This is a very strong market with heavy demand across the seniors housing and care spectrum. With 102 deals in the third quarter, we have now posted 293 transactions through September 30. That puts us on track for a record year, beating out 2015 as... Read More »
NIC Takeaways

Pricing SNFs After A Market Peak

Average skilled nursing values have dropped by 20% since the market peak in 2016, and by this time next year we will have a new Medicare reimbursement protocol. How will that figure into valuing skilled nursing facilities today? Is the skilled nursing market approaching a bottom? We know when it peaked in terms of acquisition values, and that was in 2016 at $99,000 per bed. But pricing has dropped by 20% since then, despite continued strong demand for nursing facilities. Now, after a few years of Medicare Advantage plans squeezing cash flow by cutting rates and shortening lengths of stay, a new reimbursement system will become effective a year from now. While the industry has responded... Read More »
We Can All Help To End Alzheimer’s

We Can All Help To End Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease, but everyone can help find a cure. We participated in our first Walk To End Alzheimer’s yesterday, along with about 2,000 other walkers in Norwalk, CT. While we raised $3,500 so far, it is only 50% of our goal, or $100 for each of the 70 years we have been in business. But there is still time to join our team, as the deadline is December 15. Check out our team page to make a donation to this very worthy cause. Kudos to Bill and Bob Thomas of Senior Star, who ranked second and third, respectively, for top walkers nationally, raising $108,558 (Bill) and $107,558 (Bob). Nothing like a family competition.  Five of the top 10 walkers were from Oklahoma,... Read More »