


Skilled Nursing Prices Hold Steady
Despite numerous headwinds, an aging supply and decreasing national census, skilled nursing facility prices stayed remarkably steady in the past four quarters. In the 12 months ended September 30, 2018, we recorded an average price of $81,900 per bed for skilled nursing sales, up 4% from the previous four-quarter period and up 0.7% from calendar year 2017. We saw more of a change in the average cap rate, which dipped below 12% (a pretty rare occurrence) to 11.9%, which is down from 12.55% in the 12 months ending June 30, 2018 and from 12.3% in 2017. The average price is still about 20% off from the sector’s record-high average price of about $100,000 per bed in 2016, which begs the... Read More »
Independent Living Prices Drop
Independent living prices dropped in the four quarters ended September 30, 2018, but not as sharply as assisted living did. Buyers paid on average $219,600 per unit for independent living communities, down from a near-record high of $241,300 per unit during the last four-quarter period. Why the smaller drop? The IL market has seen much less development in the space (and has seen more stable average occupancy as a result), and its less staff-intensive model lessens the future labor risks. However, this smaller market is still sharply divided between the luxury, high-rent and high-margin IL communities built in high barrier-to-entry markets, and the more middle-market communities. It’s those... Read More »What Happened To Assisted Living Prices?
The results are in for our rolling four-quarter averages for assisted living, independent living and skilled nursing sales, and they may surprise you. Assisted living prices, on average, dropped 15% to just $177,600 per unit for the four quarters ended September 30, 2018. That follows six straight quarters with an average price above $208,000 per unit for the sector and represents the lowest level since the second quarter of 2014, when we recorded an average of $162,000 per unit. What happened to the assisted living sector, which has so far seen record levels of M&A activity? In the last 12 months, there not only have been a lower number of very high-priced deals (above $300,000 per... Read More »
Near-Record Third Quarter M&A Volume
Heavy demand continues for properties across the seniors housing and care spectrum. I know I have been a little negative on the market in the past year or so, given all the problems we have seen and written about, not to mention peak pricing a year ago. I am not sure how to take it, but I guess people have not been listening. The acquisition activity continues unabated, with back to back quarters with more than 100 announced acquisitions each. This is a very strong market with heavy demand across the seniors housing and care spectrum. With 102 deals in the third quarter, we have now posted 293 transactions through September 30. That puts us on track for a record year, beating out 2015 as... Read More »