Freddie Mac welcomes newest lender
Arbor Commercial Mortgage is fast diversifying its seniors housing lending platform. In June, the company closed its first bridge loan. In July, Fannie Mae approved Arbor as a Seniors Housing DUS Lender. And now in August, it was appointed as Freddie Mac’s latest Seniors Housing Lender, one of just 15 others in the country. Arbor kicked off this new relationship by providing a $12.1 million loan to refinance a 98-unit assisted living community in Mesquite, Texas. Built in 1999 and renovated in 2013, the community had an average occupancy rate of 96.5%. Jeff Ringwald, SVP of Seniors Housing & Healthcare for Arbor, closed the loan which featured a 10-year term and 30-year amortization... Read More »As prices fall, IL cap rates stay
The average price per unit for independent living had the most dramatic change of the other acuity classes (a 13% drop from 2014 to the 12-months ending June 30, 2015, compared to a 0.4% increase for assisted living and a 3% drop for skilled nursing in the same time period), so one would expect some move in average cap rate, presumably a move up. But, the average IL cap rate for the 12-months ending June 30 did not budge from its 2014 level of 7.4%. Perhaps the quality of IL transactions hasn’t changed, with owners of high-quality communities still tempted by the high valuations, but there just have not been as many of those ultra-high end sales this year. Read More »Brookdale’s Second Quarter Worse Than Expected
Occupancy continues to tumble at Brookdale Senior Living, but this time the legacy Brookdale properties post huge declines. When Brookdale Senior Living closed its acquisition of Emeritus exactly one year ago, they did not expect to be having the problems they are with the transition. A transition that was supposedly ahead of schedule last December. Brookdale’s first quarter this year was a big disappointment for investors. The second quarter was even worse. And the problem this time was not just Emeritus, which saw a 50 basis point decline in occupancy sequentially. The legacy Brookdale properties had a 120 basis point decline in occupancy in just one quarter, and they are now down 190... Read More »Ensign crosses the Mississippi…East
An operator of skilled nursing facilities and assisted living communities primarily in western states, The Ensign Group made its first eastward crossing of the Mississippi in a big way, by acquiring the operations of 15 assisted living communities with 687 total units in Wisconsin. Bridgestone Living LLC, Ensign’s seniors housing subsidiary, assumed a long-term master lease on the properties, which includes an option to purchase all of the real estate. The portfolio, with a combined occupancy rate of 83%, is expected to be mildly accretive to earnings in 2015. In addition, the next day Ensign bolstered its already strong presence in Southern California with the acquisition of two... Read More »Average SNF prices fall
Prices continue to drop off from their record highs seen in 2014. As with independent living, the same holds true for skilled nursing, which fell 3% from $76,600 per bed in 2014 to $74,100 in the 12-months ending June 30, 2015, according to a supplemental report to The Senior Care Acquisition Report. Still, skilled nursing prices have risen significantly since 2011 (when the average price paid was $51,100 per bed), and have seemingly plateaued at around $75,000 per bed. With SNFs taking on higher acuity (thus higher paying) patients while also trying to increase Medicare census, the average facility value will most likely not come close to those 2011 levels again. Read More »Active developer at it again
Smith/Packett Med-Com, a developer of seniors housing across the Southeast but concentrated in Virginia, is adding a 102-unit assisted living/memory care community to its portfolio. Located on a high-visibility spot in Yorktown, Virginia, The Crossings on the Peninsula will feature 68 assisted living units and 34 memory care units, in addition to an in-house rehabilitation and therapy space for its residents. Working with Cushman & Wakefield/Thalhimer, Smith/Packett closed on the 8.43 acre site in June for $1.16 million and has begun clearing the site for construction. When the community opens in the summer of 2016, to the tune of nearly $16 million, or $156,900 per unit,... Read More »High-quality rural senior living sells
Just how does a high-quality assisted/independent living community located in rural Northeast Ohio maintain a combined occupancy over 90%? Well, aside from having an excellent reputation for care and services, the community was owned by a local golf pro and golf course owner with ties to the seniors housing industry, who would let residents and guests of residents play at his neighboring course free of charge. That added feature certainly must have helped keep census strong over the years, and maybe prompted a few more visits from family members. The community was built in 2001 with 56 units of assisted living, and added 12 independent living cottages between 2004 and 2008. At the time of... Read More »Greystone facilitates Pacifica’s Georgia exit
Pacifica Companies is exiting the Georgia market with the sale of its two assisted living/memory care communities in the Atlanta metro area. The portfolio, which includes a 58-unit community with 36 assisted living units and 22 memory care units in Dunwoody, Georgia, and a 32-unit stand-alone memory care community in Roswell, Georgia, was approximately 75% occupied and was not a strategic fit for Pacifica. The buyer, a publicly-traded REIT, paid $10.8 million, or $120,000 per unit, and will bring on a local operator to manage. Mike Garbers of Greystone Real Estate Advisors led the sale. Read More »Average price for IL communities falls
How low can average independent living prices go? When the 2014 seniors housing M&A market hit unprecedented heights, in both value and volume, it was driven largely by an especially pricey independent living market, with the average price paid for independent living at $246,800 per unit, compared to $191,950 per unit in 2013. However, in the 12-months ending June 30, 2015 (according to a supplemental report to the 20th Edition of The Senior Care Acquisition Report), the average IL price fell to $214,500 per unit. What can explain this 13% drop? Either sales so far in 2015 have not reached the values seen in 2014, or many of the high-priced transactions of 2014 happened in the first... Read More »Seniors Housing Census Woes Continue
Brookdale Senior Living is not the only one with some recent census declines… The next few weeks will be very telling in terms of the direction of some of the major seniors housing companies. All eyes will be on Brookdale Senior Living next week as it announces second quarter results and whether it has reversed its downward occupancy trend. Brookdale’s stock price is down about 15% since June 1 and is at its lowest level in more than eight months. Those activist shareholders must be going nuts. We know NIC MAP indicated a tough second quarter in general, and we also know that the Atria Senior Living and Sunrise Senior Living properties in the Ventas stable posted a combined 40 basis... Read More »Schedule a demo
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