• 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 »
The 40-Year Old SNF

The 40-Year Old SNF

The skilled nursing sector is under pressure, especially those facilities built 40 years ago. But buyers continue to see opportunity. There are some people who believe skilled nursing facilities are dinosaurs and will continue to see declines in census and profitability. There are others who believe they are part of the solution to contain healthcare costs and will see census increases in the future as demographics evolve and the SNF bed inventory continues to decline. Within both sides of the debate, there is concern for the large number of skilled nursing facilities that were built 40 years ago. Can they be part of the solution? Is it worthwhile to invest capital in an outdated design?... Read More »
The 40-Year Old SNF

M&A Market Surges

After a very slow March, April seniors housing and care M&A transactions surged to nearly 50 acquisitions, more than double the number in March. In the first quarter this year, we averaged about 26 seniors housing and care acquisitions each month for a total of 77 in the quarter. That was close to what we have been seeing in the past few quarters, so nothing out of the ordinary. That is, until April. Last month we recorded 46 separate acquisitions, or double March’s volume. While it may not be a record, it is awfully close. The number will most likely rise above 50 as more deals come to light. It is too early to say this represents a trend in renewed M&A activity, but other than... Read More »
The 40-Year Old SNF

M&A Values Dip

For the 12 months ended March 31, 2018, assisted and independent living average prices fell, while skilled nursing stayed the same as in 2017. After a record 2017 for assisted living average prices, for the trailing 12 months ended March 31, the prices have come down to earth, a bit. In this most recent period, the average price per unit fell 5% from calendar year 2017, to $210,100 per unit, and the unweighted average cap rate rose to 7.9% from 7.6%. This makes sense given rising interest rates and the continued market headwinds. The independent living market dropped by 9%, to $209,300 per unit, for the 12 months ended March 31, but I would assign less meaning to that because it is a much... Read More »
The 40-Year Old SNF

First Quarter Occupancy Down Again

Seniors housing occupancy levels dropped both sequentially and year over year, but new development continues. While it did not come as much of a surprise, the recently reported occupancy trends from NIC MAP were certainly disheartening. For occupancy at stabilized assisted living communities in the top 100 markets to drop 70 basis points from the previous quarter, and 117 basis points from the year-ago quarter, to 87.9%, it just makes us wonder why there is still so much new development in the ground, and in planning.   Everyone thinks they have a better mouse trap, that their building is better, their staff will be better, the programs better….I could go on. The reality, however, is that... Read More »
The 40-Year Old SNF

Buying and Selling “A” and “B” Seniors Housing Communities

There are many differences beyond values between “A and “B” communities, including NOI per unit, operating margin and cap rate. In 2017, the range in prices paid for seniors housing communities was from $20,000 to over $700,000 per unit. There are many reasons for this rather wide range, and many people divide the market between “A” and “B” properties. Have you ever wondered what differentiates an “A” community from a “B”? You don’t hear much about those “B” communities, because no one ever markets a “B” property. It just doesn’t sound very, well, marketable. Tomorrow, we are hosting a webinar where we will present our 2017 “A” vs “B” pricing statistics, and the panelists... Read More »
The 40-Year Old SNF

Opportunities and Challenges in Seniors Housing and Care

Conferences abound with opportunities in seniors housing and care, but challenges exist as well. So, I have been in New York City the past two days at a new conference being put on by iiBIG, formerly known as the International Institute of Business Information & Growth. I believe this is the first seniors housing and care-dedicated conference in New York City for several years, which is surprising given the large number of providers and properties within a 200-mile radius. I moderated one panel and spoke on another, and while the title of the conference is “Opportunities in Senior Housing & Care,” there are also a lot of challenges in today’s market. Just look at what has been... Read More »