• Ensign Continues To Rock

    When quarterly earnings season hits, we have always been nervous about some company reporting unexpected bad news and maybe sending shock waves through the industry. The one exception is The Ensign Group, which rarely, if ever, has had a negative surprise. They did not disappoint us with their second quarter results. We have been waiting for... Read More »
  • Family Office Acquires Florida Seniors Housing Portfolio 

    Berkadia facilitated the sale of a four-property assisted living and memory care portfolio along Florida’s West Coast. Brooks Minford closed the transaction on behalf of two separate sellers. The buyer of all four properties, a Central Florida-based family office looking to expand its existing footprint, finalized the closings on July 23. The... Read More »
  • Forest Facilitates Florida SNF Acquisitions

    Forest Healthcare Properties handled two separate skilled nursing transactions in Florida. First, engaged by a regional owner/operator looking to exit the Tampa and Orlando MSAs, Forest helped facilitate the sale leaseback for a portfolio of seven SNFs. Built in 1980, the portfolio encompassed 866 beds with an occupancy rate above 90%. At the... Read More »
  • The Zett Group’s Summer Surge

    The Zett Group, a brokerage firm focused on the Pacific Northwest, has hit a rich vein of activity, closing four separate transactions in recent weeks. Blake Bozett handled the transactions, with even more deals to be announced soon. First, built in 2006, Streamside Assisted Living and Memory Care features 79 assisted living and memory care units... Read More »
  • StoryPoint Acquires in Michigan

    Alex Vice, Josh Jandris and Thomas Falkenberg of Walker & Dunlop facilitated the sale of two seniors housing communities in Oakland County, Michigan, which included Blossom Ridge (Rochester) and Blossom Village/Blossom Springs (Oakland Charter Township). In total, the communities encompass 245 units: Blossom Ridge features active adult,... Read More »
The Ensign Group Rocks It Again

The Ensign Group Rocks It Again

It is all about culture, and handing down responsibility, accountability, and providing financial incentives that makes The Ensign Group tick, and rock every quarter. It is also something some seniors housing providers can learn from. Some companies are doing it, but many founders and CEOs are still not ready to hand over the tools to succeed. The nursing home industry is difficult, but Ensign continues to outperform. Same-facility occupancy was up 240 basis points year over year, and it was up 40 basis points sequentially. The skilled mix increased by 110 basis points sequentially. Other nursing home operators only dream of this. In addition, Ensign’s 2024 earnings guidance is now 13%... Read More »
Highmark Assumes Management of Iowa Portfolio

Highmark Assumes Management of Iowa Portfolio

Highmark Senior Living, a Hubbell Realty Co. affiliate that manages six communities with over 290 residents, has taken over management of a portfolio of Edencrest senior living communities spread throughout Iowa. The communities include Edencrest at Beaverdale (built in 2017), Edencrest at Green Meadows (2016), Edencrest at The Legacy (2018), Edencrest at Riverwoods (2014), Edencrest at Siena Hills (2017), Edencrest at Timberline (2023) and Edencrest at Tuscany (2021). Read More »
Some Providers Still Stuck In Pandemic Swamp

Some Providers Still Stuck In Pandemic Swamp

Diversified Healthcare Trust reported on the December performance of its seniors housing operators, and let’s just say it seems that little progress has been made.  In the seniors housing operating portfolio (SHOP) operated by Aleris/Five Star, with 117 communities and 16,951 units, in 2023 census increased by only 240 basis points to 80.4% in December. But that is not the major problem. The average monthly rate has held fairly stable, ending the year at $4,429 compared with $4,278 in January last year. The problem has been expenses, which increased by 11% over the year, jumping by 5% from November to December alone. That resulted in a plunge in NOI in December to $4.0 million,... Read More »
Thank You, FBI Agent James Dennehy

Thank You, FBI Agent James Dennehy

All we can say is, it is about time. We have complained for several years that something needs to be done about the bad apples (criminals) that have given the nursing home industry a bad reputation, and sullied the reputations of all those who are trying hard to provide the best care they can, given the tough environment. Probably the worst abuser of the system, and someone who should have been put in jail a while ago and never allowed to own, operate or get a license for a nursing home ever again, has finally agreed to plead guilty to a $38 million tax fraud. We are referring, of course, to the notorious Joseph Schwartz, owner of Skyline Healthcare, who walked away from about 100 nursing... Read More »
Greystone’s New Addition

Greystone’s New Addition

David Young has joined Greystone as a Managing Director for healthcare finance. He will be focusing on originating and structuring senior loans for the company’s FHA lending platform, as well as other financing options such as bridge, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Based in the New York area, Young reports to Christopher Clare, Managing Director for healthcare finance.  Prior to joining Greystone, Young was a Managing Director at Locust Point Capital, where he originated and structured over $2 billion in seniors housing and skilled nursing debt and equity, including preferred and joint venture capital. Earlier in his career, he served as CFO for Radiant Senior Living. While at Radiant,... Read More »
60 Seconds with Swett: Healthcare M&A Totals

60 Seconds with Swett: Healthcare M&A Totals

We know that seniors housing and care dealmakers pushed M&A activity to its second-highest total ever in 2023, with around 490 transactions, and counting. But what about the whole healthcare industry, which our sister publication LevinPro HC tracks? For the year, the 12 other healthcare sectors we cover, from Behavioral Health and Home Health to Hospitals and Physician Medical Groups, a total of 2,154 transactions were publicly announced, a 12% decline from the 2,443 transactions disclosed in 2022, which was a record-high. It also fell 4% short of 2021’s total, but historically, anything above 2,000 is on another level. After all, 2019 only reached around 1,400 deals.  All sectors... Read More »