• Active Adult Community Secures Freddie Mac Refinance

    An active adult community in Hurst, Texas, paid off its existing bank debt with a Freddie Mac refinance arranged by Berkadia. Heritage Village Residences was built in 2014 with 120 units, including 10 cottages. It was part of multiple acquisitions over the years, first in 2020 when Edison Equity Management Corporation bought it for $23.3 million... Read More »
  • Upstate NY Seniors Housing Community Trades

    Kory Buzin and Steve Thomes of Blueprint facilitated the sale of a seniors housing community in upstate New York that stakeholders were divesting to take advantage of positive performance trends and a strong M&A market. The Legacy at Cranberry Landing, a 95-unit independent living, assisted living and memory care community in Rochester, was... Read More »
  • Seniors Housing Investment Vehicle Acquires First Asset

    Focus Healthcare Partners acquired Bellingham at West Chester, a 274-unit seniors housing community in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The investment is Focus’ first for its newest investment vehicle, Focus Senior Housing Fund III. The property sits on an 11.8-acre site 20 miles west of downtown Philadelphia. It comprises 208 independent living, 50... Read More »
  • Management Transfer Includes Purchase Option

    A senior care campus in Waterloo, Illinois, secured a new operator thanks to Ray Giannini of Marcus & Millichap. Featuring 144 skilled nursing beds and 50 independent living units, Oak Hill – Senior Living and Rehabilitation Center was well occupied with a strong quality mix. It was owned by Monroe County, which wanted to retain the... Read More »
  • Bank Provides Refinance to Family Office

    BHI, the U.S. branch of Bank Hapoalim, provided a $29.0 million loan for the refinancing of an assisted living and skilled nursing facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. Gold Standard of Care Group, a Florida-based family office with a focus on healthcare and senior care and over $150 million in assets, was the borrower.  Totaling 70,272... 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 »
May’s M&A Meltdown

May’s M&A Meltdown

The M&A statistics are in for May, and it was a doozy. Only 19 seniors housing and skilled nursing deals were publicly announced during the month, nearly half of which coming from the first quarter earnings reports of several public companies. Without those, we would have barely made it to double digits. You have to go back to July 2017 for such a low monthly total, when 16 sales were disclosed. Back then, however, the month was followed by a strong August (27 deals) and September (35). We’re not as hopeful for such a comeback this time.  Another facet of May’s M&A activity was that nearly all of the deals were either closed in the first quarter or were all-but-completed... Read More »
Skilled Nursing Values Were Strong Before COVID-19

Skilled Nursing Values Were Strong Before COVID-19

Leading up to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, skilled nursing facilities were going through their own challenges of falling census and shortening lengths of stay, low Medicaid reimbursement, aging physical plants, a labor squeeze and the possibility of a CMS correction after the implementation of PDPM. What some wouldn’t give to go back to those kinds of problems. However, values were near an all-time high, averaging $93,000 per bed in 2019 according to the 25th Edition of The Senior Care Acquisition Report, and falling slightly to an average of $92,800 per unit in the four quarters ended March 2020.   That high average was the result of investors acquiring... Read More »
Where Will Independent Living Values Go?

Where Will Independent Living Values Go?

Here’s the good news and the bad news regarding the independent living market today. The good news is that the fundamentals of the sector were stronger than ever as recent as this March, with values nearing a peak, occupancy consistently above 90% nationally, rents staying strong, and the labor problems largely avoiding IL communities. The bad news is that move-ins may be delayed for months, a recession may make selling and moving out of one’s home (and into an IL community) less feasible, and the socialization benefit of these communities may change significantly for some time.   Anecdotally, we do hear of move-ins continuing at a steady pace, depending on the locality and... Read More »
Where Were Assisted Living Values At Their Pre-Pandemic Peak?

Where Were Assisted Living Values At Their Pre-Pandemic Peak?

Seniors housing values were at (or very close to) a peak by the beginning of March. Then, COVID-19 shut down the country, and those communities were forced to shut their doors, halt move-ins, and deal with the pandemic and their residents as best they could. Keeping those seniors safe and healthy is, of course, the first priority. But the drop in occupancy and cash flow is also a serious matter (how else can these communities stay open to care for seniors if they are not profitable, after all?) and may lead to a correction in values.   Just how large of a correction, we cannot be sure, but we do know where values were right before the pandemic hit. According... Read More »