• 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 »

Occupancy’s Impact on Skilled Nursing Facility Prices

The skilled nursing industry has experienced consistent declines in average occupancy over the past few years, sinking to a new low of 81.8% in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to NIC’s latest Skilled Nursing Data Report. It should be said that the actual level of occupancy has become less important for skilled nursing facilities because the focus has been centered on short-term-stay patients. Almost by definition, because of the high level of turnover with these patients, and the inability to consistently and constantly fill those beds on discharge, overall occupancy tends to suffer. But since these patients are more profitable than longer stay patients, providers have not worried as... Read More »
The Highs and Lows of Seniors Housing Prices

The Highs and Lows of Seniors Housing Prices

Last week, we examined the difference in price between the low and high ends of the skilled nursing M&A market. As opposed to just using the average or median, breaking down the market by quartile allows us to separate the higher end of the market from the lower end, since many sellers think the average has no meaning to their particular properties that may be newer, in better locations or just more profitable (and often all three). So, what about the seniors housing (independent and assisted living combined) market? Like the overall average seniors housing price in 2016, the upper quartile price in 2016 of $241,500 per unit rose from its 2015 level ($227,900 per unit) and was just off... Read More »
What Are the Memory Care Investors Saying?

What Are the Memory Care Investors Saying?

On March 9th, we hosted a webinar entitled “Building or Buying Memory Care,” with moderator Steve Monroe and panelists Clint Malin of LTC Properties, Mark Myers of Marcus & Millichap, Michael Stoller of LCB Senior Living and Matthew Turner of MorningStar Senior Living. The panelists covered a range of topics (you can listen to the discussion here) including the risks of overbuilding, effectiveness of memory care conversions and fill-up risk, among others. But our audience also chimed in, answering three poll questions throughout the webinar. First, when asked if they would build stand-alone MC, assisted living with MC or stand-alone AL, 60% preferred the mix, 32% would build... Read More »
Memory Care: Buy or Build?

Memory Care: Buy or Build?

Investors in seniors housing have been flocking to the memory care market, as the sector has experienced unprecedented growth since the Great Recession. They are attracted to its need-based demand, higher rents, private payors and apparent dearth in supply in a number of markets (though given the amount of construction in the last few years that is becoming less and less true). But those investors that are interested in getting into or expanding their holdings in this market are faced with a question: do they build memory care, or buy? That is the topic of our upcoming webinar this Thursday at 1PM aptly named, “Buying or Building Memory Care.” Our moderator Steve Monroe and panelists Clint... Read More »
The Senior Care Investors Have Spoken

The Senior Care Investors Have Spoken

Last week, we hosted a 90-minute webinar called “Seniors Housing M&A: The Numbers, the Deals and the 2017 Forecast” with panelists Arnold Whitman of Formation Capital, Bill Mulligan of Ziegler and Alan Plush of HealthTrust, and Steve Monroe moderating. The panel discussed our 2016 M&A statistics for the skilled nursing, assisted living and independent living M&A markets (to be published in the 22nd Edition of The Senior Care Acquisition Report this March), which saw new record-high prices for SNFs and ALFs. But those high prices contradict a growing sense of caution among investors, and lead us to wonder if we have passed the peak. Our listeners to the webinar certainly thought... Read More »
Seniors Housing Cap Rates On The Rise

Seniors Housing Cap Rates On The Rise

For the first time since the Great Recession, average seniors housing cap rates increased year-over-year from 7.6% in 2015 to 8.2% in 2016. While that only approaches the high of the previous bull market (8.3% in 2007) it is a sharp break from this current bull market. But if there are a number of other signs that the market is still strong in 2016, why did average cap rates go up 60 basis points? First, as unprecedented high prices forced a number of buyers out of the market for high-quality “A” properties, investors pounced on more value-add opportunities to get their returns. Those riskier deals obviously featured higher cap rates. Second, the cost of borrowing went up in 2016,... Read More »