• October Kicks Off with Multiple Financings

    VIUM Capital announced a slew of closings at the start of October, ranging from HUD refinances to acquisition loans. The largest was a $72 million bride loan that refinanced four skilled nursing facilities in Pennsylvania totaling 525 beds. Proceeds will be used to take out senior debt and senior mezzanine debt. The facility will be structured as... Read More »
  • Newmark Negotiates Several Large Financings

    Sarah Anderson of Newmark has closed some notable financing transactions in the last couple of months, in addition to arranging acquisition financing for numerous deals handled by the Newmark investment sales team. One of the closings was for Vivante at Turtle Creek, a to-be-built seniors housing community on the prestigious Turtle Creek... Read More »
  • Funding Arranged for Skilled Nursing Clients

    MONTICELLOAM, LLC, a specialized multifamily and seniors housing bridge lending platform, announced a couple of financings for skilled nursing clients in New England and North Carolina. First, for eight skilled nursing facilities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the firm closed a $70 million senior bridge loan with a 24-month initial term. It... Read More »
  • Newly Constructed Community Secures Financing

    BWE arranged refinancing for Clarendale Arcadia, a newly constructed senior living community in the Arcadia neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona. The financing was arranged on behalf of a repeat client joint venture between Harrison Street Asset Management, LCS, and Ryan Companies US, Inc., with LCS serving as the operator. Ryan Stoll, National... Read More »
  • Brookdale Shares Hit Seven-Year High

    Brookdale Senior Living has posted occupancy increases for several consecutive months. The operator has lagged behind the industry for a decade now, so it is about time.  Weighted average occupancy has increased each month since January, beginning at 79.2% and reaching 82.5% in September. The third quarter’s average of 81.8% is up 290 basis... Read More »
Average Seniors Housing Occupancy Falls To Record-Low

Average Seniors Housing Occupancy Falls To Record-Low

The latest occupancy figures are out from NIC, and we suppose it could have been worse. Seniors housing communities reported that their census dropped on average by 280 basis points in the second quarter of 2020, from 87.7% to 84.5%. That is the lowest level ever recorded since NIC started reporting this data 14 years ago. Separating the market out, assisted living communities experienced a steeper decline, from 85.3% to 82.1% during the quarter, while independent living, which was in better health as a sector going into the pandemic, fell 240 basis points to 87.4%. Given the longer lengths of stay and the younger, healthier residents in independent living, that makes sense. Being a more... Read More »
One Small Provider Tackles The Coronavirus, And Performs

One Small Provider Tackles The Coronavirus, And Performs

As we all know by now, the coronavirus has been impacting providers very differently. Some not-for-profits have been spared, while others have suffered greatly. The very large national providers have seen surges in positive cases and deaths in some of their buildings, while other buildings they operate have been completely spared. Was senior management doing something different in the spared buildings? Probably not, but often times it can be the local management team, and just as often with this pandemic, it can just be a matter of luck.  Small providers, especially those with hands-on senior management, seem to have fared reasonably well from conversations we have had. Were they in... Read More »
Q2 Senior Care M&A Falls To Seven-Year Low

Q2 Senior Care M&A Falls To Seven-Year Low

Well, we can’t say we aren’t surprised. COVID-19 and the economic ramifications stemming from social distancing and quarantine measures took a toll on seniors housing and care M&A, leaving the sector with just 59 publicly announced transactions in the second quarter. Back in early April, we said the second quarter’s deal total would be low and wondered if we’d even get to 50 transactions. Even though we did surpass that level, a closer look at the deals reveals an even bleaker market.  The decline in activity is made even more stark after an unprecedented level of deal-making in 2019, with 450 total transactions (not including scores more that were... Read More »
Recession Resistant Assisted Living? The Audience Speaks

Recession Resistant Assisted Living? The Audience Speaks

When the seniors housing industry emerged from the Great Recession, it quickly became apparent that it performed well during that economic downturn, especially when compared against other “real estate” asset classes, and especially the assisted living sub-sector. It became known as “recession resistant,” something that made a lot of investors happy.   Now that we have officially entered into the first recession since the Great Recession, we thought it was a good time to talk with industry leaders and get their take on whether assisted living would once again be recession resistant, even though it would be a very different kind of recession.  Last week we hosted... Read More »
Seniors Housing Occupancy Slides Further, But Slower

Seniors Housing Occupancy Slides Further, But Slower

Well, it shouldn’t have surprised anyone, but occupancy levels for stabilized independent living and assisted living continued their drop in the month of May, according to NIC MAP. Across the country’s 31 largest metropolitan areas, assisted living properties first fell by 170 basis points from 87.8% in March (the first full month of the COVID-19 pandemic) to 86.1% in April. The sector occupancy fell by a lesser degree in May, by 90 basis points to 85.2%. So, in total, that is a 360-basis point drop for assisted living since the pandemic began.   The independent living sector has so far fared better than assisted living, but it also has the benefit of being in a stronger position going... Read More »
National Health Investors: What Pandemic?

National Health Investors: What Pandemic?

It seems that National Health Investors is doing just fine during this pandemic, as are its operators, apparently. The Tennessee-based REIT reported that it has collected 99.7% of its contractual rent in April, 100% in May, and so far, 99.4% in June. That should make shareholders feel pretty good right now.  On the occupancy front, excluding communities that have been open less than 24 months, it was not quite as rosy but nothing they can’t handle. For 41 same-community properties operated by Bickford Senior Living, occupancy has dropped 240 basis points, from 86.6% in March to 84.2% in May. The first quarter averaged 87.3%.   Senior Living... Read More »