• 60 Seconds with Swett: Rising Treasuries and Senior Care M&A

    Momentum in the M&A market has continued into 2025, and there is general optimism that the new Administration that descended on Washington this week will be good for the business environment. Although there is some uncertainty around what, if any, tariffs are enacted and whether their effect on prices would potentially be blunted by falling... Read More »
  • PruittHealth Secures Financing in Georgia

    Jay Healy and Andrew Lanzaro of Berkadia closed a $9.1 million bridge-to-HUD loan on behalf of PruittHealth to facilitate the acquisition of a skilled nursing facility. The 18-month, interest-only bridge loan represented 76.5% of the value and is prepayable at any time, putting its value at around $11.9 million, or $180,000 per bed. Berkadia... Read More »
  • MorningStar Welcomes New President/CIO

    MorningStar Senior Living announced a new President and Chief Investment Officer, Jamie Ranzan. Ranzan brings 20 years of experience in real estate development, acquisitions and operations across multiple property types, including senior living. Ranzan began her career at Ernst & Young as an auditor in the real estate group of its Orange... Read More »
  • Seniors Housing Occupancy Hits New Post-Pandemic High

    NIC released its latest seniors housing occupancy update for the 31 NIC Map Primary Markets, and fourth quarter 2024 census has hit another post-pandemic occupancy high. Overall seniors housing occupancy rose to 87.2%, up 70 basis points from 86.5% in the third quarter. Separated out by property type, majority-independent living properties were... Read More »
  • Alternative-Use Buyer Acquires Standalone Memory Care Community

    Before the year ended, BWE closed on the sale of a standalone memory care community in Suwanee, Georgia. Built in 2013, Peachtree Villa at Suwanee comprises 42-units on three acres. At the time of the sale, the property was not in operation. The buyer will renovate the property for an alternative use.  Charley Bissell handled the... Read More »
60 Seconds with Monroe: Are We Getting Too Big Again?

60 Seconds with Monroe: Are We Getting Too Big Again?

One of the consequences of the pandemic, one of many, is that the differentiation between the best operators and the not so good has been increasingly exposed. And of course, investors will seek out the best to manage their properties. But as this happens, the operators who are doing a good or even great job today will start to be spread too thin. Managing 20 communities is a lot different than 50, 100 or more. You can have the procedures and policies in place for 100 properties, but you do start to lose that personal touch, especially if the CEO is very hands on. With REITs and other investors doubling down on either their best operators, or finding others that they perceive to be top... Read More »
Are Cap Rates Set To Rise in 2024?

Are Cap Rates Set To Rise in 2024?

In a recent survey conducted by Cushman & Wakefield, 68% of respondents anticipate a sustained increase in capitalization rates over the next year, expressing concern over debt market liquidity, which is the primary worry for 51% of participants. The majority of respondents, 49%, are pursuing core-plus investment strategies, while 34% focus on opportunistic or distressed investments, expecting around $18 billion in sector-specific loan maturities within the next 24 months. Notably, 33% of participants are targeting need-driven segments, particularly assisted living. There’s a notable compression in basis point spreads between the going-in capitalization rate and terminal capitalization... Read More »
Sonida Senior Living Still Making Progress

Sonida Senior Living Still Making Progress

As Col. Hannibal Smith of the A-Team was fond of saying, “I love it when a plan comes together.” For Sonida Senior Living, it has been a long struggle, and while it may be taking longer than management wanted, the plan is slowly coming together. Everything is moving in the right direction, with occupancy up 150 basis points year over year to 84.9% in the third quarter, higher than industry averages, resident revenue increased 12.6% year over year, adjusted EBITDA more than doubled in the third quarter compared with the year-ago quarter, and RevPOR increased by 11.7% year over year. October’s census increased by 40 basis points from September to over 86%. The third quarter also saw... Read More »
Chartwell Retirement Residences Sees Census Soar

Chartwell Retirement Residences Sees Census Soar

Canada-based Chartwell Retirement Residences has been seeing a resurgence of occupancy growth that seems to be above and beyond the normal third quarter increases that we have come to expect.  The third quarter saw census increase by 210 basis points from the June average of 80.1%, but it grew by another 100 basis points in October to 83.2%. They expect to add another 100 basis points over the next two months. Not too shabby. If they keep it up, they may reach the 95% occupancy levels of Ventas’s Canadian operators. Leasing activity in 2023 to date is 18% higher than the company’s pre-pandemic levels. Occupancy is now 600 basis points above its recent low of 77.2% in April 2022. With... Read More »
Is This The Time To Start A REIT?

Is This The Time To Start A REIT?

As we know, healthcare REITs suffered during the pandemic, with share prices hitting lows in March 2020. It was a long battle to regain previous values and even longer to sort out the various tenant problems. Balance sheets have been cleaned up, tenants and properties have been replaced, but there are still many legacy problems. Is now a good time to start a REIT with a clean slate? Well, 1031 Crowdfunding thinks so. It has just launched Covenant Senior Housing REIT, which out of the gate has three assisted living/memory care properties with a value of $51.25 million. The communities are located in Oregon and California with an average 89.0% occupancy. They plan to buy cash-flowing... Read More »
Are Cap Rates Set To Rise in 2024?

CareTrust REIT Steadies For The Future

While it may not have been CareTrust REIT’s best quarter, there do not seem to be many problems with its tenants. The REIT collected 97.5% of contractual rent, up from 96.7% in the previous quarter. It helps when The Ensign Group is your major tenant. Lease coverage ratios are important when most of your business is triple net leases. For CareTrust, it is the envy of the industry. For the 12 months ended June 30, 2023 (REITs and their leases are always three months behind in reporting), CareTrust’s top 10 tenants had a combined EBITDARM coverage ratio of 2.87x, up from 2.71x for the previous 12-month period. And this excludes any use of HHS Relief Funds. Within this group, Ensign was tops... Read More »