• Did Blackstone Sell Too Soon?

    According to recent media reports, real estate investor The Blackstone Group has sold and is in the process of selling about $1.8 billion in seniors housing assets. It wants to completely exit the seniors housing business which they claim has been a disaster for them. One report stated that they have lost upwards of $600 million across the... Read More »
  • Brookdale Continues Winning Streak

    The big question is, why did this not happen earlier? We are talking about Brookdale Senior Living’s occupancy recovery, and why the previous leadership seemed unable to move the needle, but as soon as they were gone, everything has been on an upward trend. Hmmmmm.  Things are not perfect at Brookdale, but they never were. However,... Read More »
  • National Health Investors Adjusts Its SHOP Portfolio

    National Health Investors, Inc. announced some adjustments to its SHOP portfolio, raising its full-year guidance for the third consecutive quarter due to the contribution of recently transitioned and newly acquired SHOP properties, along with continued strength in its investment pipeline. The REIT also had an update on its lease agreement with... Read More »
  • Strawberry Fields’ Three Separate SNF Transactions

    Strawberry Fields REIT, Inc. announced three separate skilled nursing transactions that closed during the third quarter. Two previously announced acquisitions were in Missouri, and the recently announced purchase was in Oklahoma.  In July, the REIT completed the acquisition of nine skilled nursing facilities with 686 beds in Missouri. The... Read More »
  • Receivership Estate Sells in Alabama

    Kory Buzin and Steve Thomes of Blueprint handled another successful sale on behalf of a lender and special servicer, this time involving a receivership estate in Mobile, Alabama. Knollwood Point, a 2001-vintage, 46-unit assisted living and memory care community, struggled in recent years as a result of challenged occupancy and volatile staffing.... Read More »
MidCap Financial Closes Acquisition Debt For Healthpeak

MidCap Financial Closes Acquisition Debt For Healthpeak

MidCap Financial closed acquisition debt for another Healthpeak divestiture. Announced in May, the REIT sold five of its SHOP communities that were operated by Florida-based Sonata Senior Living. All five communities are in Florida, with locations in Delray Beach (80 units), Boynton Beach (92), Boca Raton (74), Coconut Creek (94) and Vero Beach (104). There was a total of 328 assisted living, 107 memory care and nine independent living units, and the communities averaged around 20 years in age. However, the properties were well maintained, and Healthpeak Properties had invested over $13 million of capex in the past four years.  Private equity firm Fortress Investment Group paid $64... Read More »
Dissecting the Holiday Retirement Deal

Dissecting the Holiday Retirement Deal

Welltower announced the acquisition of Holiday Retirement’s owned portfolio of 86 independent living communities for $1.58 billion, or just about $152,000 per unit. Simultaneously, Atria Senior Living said that it was acquiring Holiday’s operating business for an undisclosed price. Either of these announcements would normally be major news, but they also come on the heels of Harrison Street’s $1.2 billion purchase of 24 properties operated by Oakmont Senior Living and a very busy June (so far) with more than 30 individual transactions already made public. Perhaps the tide has turned for investment activity in seniors housing and care.  The Welltower deal also represents yet another... Read More »
Merrill Gardens Buys Big

Merrill Gardens Buys Big

Merrill Gardens, known more developing seniors housing communities than acquiring them, has acquired Blue Harbor, a Portland, Oregon-based company that currently manages 21 communities in 13 states. The seller was Fortress Investment Group. For Merrill Gardens, it is somewhat of a two-fer, as Blue Harbor’s CEO, Tana Gall, is joining Merrill Gardens as its CEO, replacing David Eskenazy who announced his retirement last month. What’s more, Gall was president of Merrill Gardens from 2013 to 2015 before leaving to start her own consulting company, but was then recruited by Blue Harbor. She also worked at Leisure Care for 19 years, rising to be president there. Not a bad resume. Merrill Gardens... Read More »
All Hands On Deck For CBRE’s Latest Sale

All Hands On Deck For CBRE’s Latest Sale

CBRE had their hands full in a large Dallas-area CCRC sale, representing one of the selling entities and the buyer in the transaction, in addition to arranging a two-part acquisition financing totaling over $120 million. Totaling 1,104 rental units, which is separated out into 37% skilled nursing, 28% independent living, 24% assisted living and 11% memory care units, this portfolio was owned by Fortress Investment Group and Life Care Services, which held a lease-hold interest and operated (and will continue to operate) the communities. Properties ranged from 153 units to 267 units and were approximately 35 years old, all located in the Dallas MSA. Aspect Investment Partners, a global... Read More »
Reading the Holiday tea leaves

Reading the Holiday tea leaves

As most of you have read recently, Walker & Dunlop closed its largest loan ever (almost double the size of its $670 million financing that the company closed earlier in 2015) in the form of a $1.27 billion seven-year adjustable-rate Freddie Mac loan secured by 78 Holiday Retirement independent living properties. The financing, led by Russell Dey and Laura Beaton of W&D, comes out to approximately $144,400 per unit, which if you assume a 75% loan-to-value, is almost identical ($192,500 per unit) to the average price per unit Holiday properties have sold for in the last few years ($193,800 per unit, according to our records). Since 2013 Holiday has sold, in nine transactions, 231... Read More »