Welltower Sees Light at End of Tunnel
Welltower was the first REIT out of the gate with its first quarter earnings release, something the market has been waiting for to see if there are any signs that a turnaround is on the way. The answer is…sort of. First the bad news. Average first quarter 2021 occupancy in its seniors housing owned portfolio declined by about 310 basis points from the fourth quarter, which was near the middle of management’s forecast, so totally expected. The occupancy at the end of March was 73.6%, or 1,210 basis points lower than at the end of January 2020. That’s a big hole their operators have to dig out of. Assisted living and independent living revenue per occupied room... Read More »
Waiting To Sell, Or Buy, Or Lend
If census has indeed bottomed in the senior care industry, investors may still want to wait for several months of sustained growth before buying again. Although “consensus” on anything is dangerous to rely on, it does seem that either we have hit that bottom of the occupancy plunge, and if not, we are very close to it. After a year of turmoil and uncertainty, a rising national occupancy level for seniors housing will be quite a relief. What we are hearing is that some lenders want to see at least three months of consistent, increasing census for their new loans, and we suspect some buyers will want to see that as well. I guess you could say they want to see it before they will believe it.... Read More »
And The Audience Says…
Last week, we hosted a webinar tackling the differences between two classes of seniors housing communities: “A” quality versus “B” quality. Often, buyers and investors of one group do not do much business in the other, so it is worth breaking out the differences in valuation, operations and investment strategies. So, for the last several years in our annual Senior Care Acquisition Report, we have divided seniors housing properties into these categories based on a combination of their age, size and location. Leading up to the pandemic, prices paid for “A” quality properties were surging as labor and occupancy headwinds seemed to be affecting “B” (and “C”)... Read More »
Is Home Care The Answer?
The move toward more home health is upon us, and it is time for providers to engage. If President Biden’s $2.1 trillion “stimulus” bill goes through, you all have heard about that $400 billion for home and community-based services. Not $400 million, but billion. When nearly 20% of a so-called stimulus package is going towards home and community-based care, well, forgive me for getting nervous. It is the progressive political/academic/union complex trying to make a major change in care for the elderly, but with borrowed federal funds. We know that Medicaid doesn’t work well for most nursing homes, and that most assisted living providers want to remain private pay. That means there is... Read More »
