• Did Blackstone Sell Too Soon?

    According to recent media reports, real estate investor The Blackstone Group has sold and is in the process of selling about $1.8 billion in seniors housing assets. It wants to completely exit the seniors housing business which they claim has been a disaster for them. One report stated that they have lost upwards of $600 million across the... Read More »
  • Brookdale Continues Winning Streak

    The big question is, why did this not happen earlier? We are talking about Brookdale Senior Living’s occupancy recovery, and why the previous leadership seemed unable to move the needle, but as soon as they were gone, everything has been on an upward trend. Hmmmmm.  Things are not perfect at Brookdale, but they never were. However,... Read More »
  • National Health Investors Adjusts Its SHOP Portfolio

    National Health Investors, Inc. announced some adjustments to its SHOP portfolio, raising its full-year guidance for the third consecutive quarter due to the contribution of recently transitioned and newly acquired SHOP properties, along with continued strength in its investment pipeline. The REIT also had an update on its lease agreement with... Read More »
  • Strawberry Fields’ Three Separate SNF Transactions

    Strawberry Fields REIT, Inc. announced three separate skilled nursing transactions that closed during the third quarter. Two previously announced acquisitions were in Missouri, and the recently announced purchase was in Oklahoma.  In July, the REIT completed the acquisition of nine skilled nursing facilities with 686 beds in Missouri. The... Read More »
  • Receivership Estate Sells in Alabama

    Kory Buzin and Steve Thomes of Blueprint handled another successful sale on behalf of a lender and special servicer, this time involving a receivership estate in Mobile, Alabama. Knollwood Point, a 2001-vintage, 46-unit assisted living and memory care community, struggled in recent years as a result of challenged occupancy and volatile staffing.... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: M&A and Financing Markets Breaking Loose

60 Seconds with Swett: M&A and Financing Markets Breaking Loose

We have to say that there seems to be a good amount of optimism out there, despite an uncertain economy, an unsettling election cycle and constant pressure on operators to increase census and cash flow. Rates have a lot to do with it, as the 10-Year Treasury rate appears to have settled below 4% and expectations of one and more likely two rate cuts are increasingly becoming consensus. That is far from a sure thing, but we have heard that even one rate cut could be enough to bring a lot of buyers, sellers and lenders back into the fold, with the reasonable assurance that rates have started their descent. We also spoke with a couple of lenders who described a much healthier debt and equity... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: M&A and Financing Markets Breaking Loose

60 Seconds with Swett: Watch the Quarterly Investor Call 2.0

Today, Wednesday July 24th at 1pm ET, we are hosting our second Quarterly Investor Call, and it comes at a time of record-high M&A activity and no slowdown in sight. How are dealmakers doing it with all of the hurdles and higher costs associated with closing transactions these days, not to mention low valuations not inspiring many potential sellers to get off the sidelines. It turns out that need is trumping desire to sell for many owners right now, with few believing that the capital markets environment will improve dramatically, and quickly. So, rather than wait a year, they are facing the music, and often a loss on their books, to move on from a property that was either struggling... Read More »
60 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Purposeful Living?

60 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Purposeful Living?

My friend Bob Kramer likes to go on stage and talk about how seniors housing is about to get disrupted in a major way, and that if you don’t change, you will be “disrupted” out of business. Pretty harsh words, but he is most likely talking about the top 10% of the market, the market that most everyone likes to target. His point is that people are living longer and in better health, and he calls it purposeful longevity as opposed to accidental longevity of the past. They want to contribute to their community as opposed to simply take from it. As part of that, Bob believes seniors housing communities need to provide a sense of purpose to their residents, adding life to their years, not years... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: Overturning Chevron and the Effects on M&A

60 Seconds with Swett: Overturning Chevron and the Effects on M&A

There has been a lot of news to analyze from Washington, D.C. in the last couple of weeks, and the result of the 2024 election will certainly impact the operational and investment landscape in senior care. But we are still wrapping our heads around perhaps the most consequential news of late for the industry, which was the Supreme Court’s overruling of the Chevron doctrine, the 40-year judicial standard that had given a lot of leeway for administrative bodies to interpret statutes and implement regulations across the country. The case overturning Chevron is known as Loper. Now, it is up to the courts to determine those administrations’ regulatory powers, and ultimately Congress will... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: Overturning Chevron and the Effects on M&A

60 Seconds with Swett: 2024 On Track for Record M&A Year

We have been saying for the past few months that we are currently on a record pace of M&A activity for seniors housing and care properties, and our preliminary results for the first half of the year show 334 publicly announced transactions. That is not only a record for any six-month period, but it is about 100 deals higher than the 236 recorded in the first half of 2023 and surpasses the 299 deals reported in the first half of 2022. Annualized, that puts 2024 deal volume at 670 transactions, which would also clearly be a record and more than 100 transactions higher than the previous annual record of 559 deals in 2022. And looking at Q2 alone, we recorded 183 transactions, which puts... Read More »
60 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Purposeful Living?

60 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Mad as Hell

We are halfway through the year, and I am already angry. Angry at what, you may ask? All the interference from government, both elected officials and the bureaucrats. From people who think they understand how seniors housing should work. From the unions. From the anti-PE firm groups. I always say, do a few 12-hour shifts, or move in for a few days, and then tell me what you think. It is not easy, and most people are doing the best they can. Regardless, I am mad as Hell and getting tired of it all.  Except, and not to sound hypocritical, but I had to smile when I read about the investigations into A Place for Mom, a service that I always had my suspicions about. A service that many... Read More »