• 60 Seconds with Swett: Getting Realistic with New Development

    The positive mood at the NIC Fall Conference was contagious, as dealmakers were looking forward to a potential record-breaking fourth quarter. We at LevinPro are also gearing up to cover a new elevated level of M&A activity and pricing in the coming months, with our updated valuation tool better accounting for today’s market and the estimated... Read More »
  • NHC Responds to NHI

    National Healthcare Corporation, the tenant of 32 of National Health Investor’s skilled nursing/senior care facilities and three independent living communities, is disputing NHI’s determination of default after the landlord formally notified the operator that it was in default and must cure the default within 30 days to avoid an Event of... Read More »
  • REIT Acquires High-Quality Continuum of Care Community

    Blueprint facilitated the sale of a Class-A seniors housing community in Jasper, Georgia. Built in 2022, The Lodge at Stephens Lake includes 83 units of independent living cottages, assisted living and memory care. It is adjacent to a large active adult development and benefits from significant planned residential and commercial growth. At the... Read More »
  • Legend Senior Living Adds Allentown-Area Asset

    A Class-A, well performing property outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania, traded to a joint venture between Legend Senior Living and a new capital partner. Alex Florea and Kevin Lukehart of Blueprint handled the transaction. Legend previously operated The Vero at Bethlehem, which opened in July 2023 and stabilized within 18 months. At the time of... Read More »
  • CFG’s Senior Care Financing Activity

    Capital Funding Group financed more than $86 million across six transactions from early to mid-August. The transactions supported two memory care communities, four skilled nursing facilities, and one psychiatric hospital in Missouri, California, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia on behalf of nationally recognized borrowers, one of which is a... Read More »
Ventas Reports

Ventas Reports

After Welltower’s solid fourth quarter performance, all eyes were on Ventas, which has not pursued the aggressive growth path that Welltower has. Operating metrics were up in its SHOP portfolio of seniors housing communities, but not up as much as investors would have hoped. But that is not the fault of Ventas; rather, it is the fault of the operators that are underperforming. Same-community occupancy increased 170 basis points in the fourth quarter, year over year, to 84.9%. Revenue was up year over year by 7.0% while expenses were up just 4.2%. This drove a 15.0% increase in cash NOI and a 180-basis point increase in the NOI margin to 25.4%, and this is after management fees. Not bad,... Read More »
Ventas Reports

Sonida Senior Living Readies for Next Phase

Don’t you love it when a plan finally comes together? Sonida Senior Living has been working diligently to streamline its capital structure, not to mention improving its census and margins. Yesterday they announced two major developments which should set the stage for future growth. First, they purchased $77.4 million of outstanding debt held by Protective Life for $40.2 million, or a 52% discount, across seven communities. We are not sure we have seen that large of a discount in the market, and perhaps news of this will light a fire under some other creditors. Part of the purchase price was funded by a $24.8 million expansion of Sonida’s existing term loan with Ally Bank. An additional $44... Read More »
Ventas Reports

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 »
300 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Here We Go Again

300 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Here We Go Again

Whenever there are headlines about anything in senior care, we can always count on Senate hearings, with a lot of unfounded accusations and unrealistic recommendations. This usually leads to a new commission being formed, the results of which are delivered a year later in 300 pages that no one reads, except perhaps Richard Mollot of the Long Term Care Community Coalition. But that is his job. It is doubtful Liz Warren will read it. Let me start with Richard Mollot, who apparently claimed at the January 25th Senate hearing that there is a crisis in assisted living, and compared assisted living today with nursing homes in the 1970s and 1980s. Really? Did he ever go into a nursing home back... Read More »
2023 U.S. Deal Activity Nears 450 Transactions

2023 U.S. Deal Activity Nears 450 Transactions

The preliminary numbers are in, and the 2023 senior care M&A market ended up healthier than most would have predicted at the start of the year. U.S. transaction volume, based on deals that have been publicly announced but not necessarily closed (although most deals are completed by the time they are disclosed to us), reached 441 deals in 2023. That is 15% down from 2022’s domestic volume of 517 transactions, but it surpasses 2021’s deal volume of 427 transactions by 3%.  Given the pullback in liquidity, the rapidly changing capital costs, economic uncertainty and collapse in cash flow at communities across the industry, a more precipitous drop in M&A volume could have been... Read More »
An Investor’s Guide to 2024: Buy, Sell, Finance & Thrive in Senior Care

An Investor’s Guide to 2024: Buy, Sell, Finance & Thrive in Senior Care

An Investor’s Guide to 2024: Buy, Sell, Finance & Thrive in Senior Care is a deep dive into the 2024 investment landscape in the seniors housing and skilled nursing sectors. Gain valuable insights, market analysis and strategic guidance to seize opportunities and navigate potential challenges in the long-term care market. The panelists included: Ben Swett, Managing Editor, The SeniorCare Investor (moderator) Bryan J. Lockard, MRICS, Executive Managing Director, U.S Healthcare & Alternative Real Estate Lead, JLL Value and Risk Advisory Jason Punzel, Managing Director, SLIB Chris Hollister, Co-Founder, CEO and Chair, Pegasus Senior Living Austin Sacco, Managing... Read More »