• 60 Seconds with Steve Monroe: Brookdale Senior Living, What’s Next?

    So, the big vote occurred last week, and shareholders of Brookdale Senior Living have spoken. We are sure that the recent increases in occupancy convinced some shareholders to stick with management and its “plan.” But the nominees from activist shareholder Ortelius Advisors were not off-the-wall candidates. It was an excellent group, and despite... Read More »
  • Optalis Healthcare Acquires Michigan Portfolio

    Blueprint was engaged by Michael F. Flanagan, the duly appointed receiver of Spartan Holdco, LLC, et al. and approved by the Oakland County Circuit Court to run a marketing process sourcing qualified overbids for the auction sale of the SKLD (Skilled Living and Development) portfolio. Dubbed Project Spartan, the portfolio comprises eleven skilled... Read More »
  • National REIT Divests to Cougar Capital Management

    Haven Senior Investments facilitated a transaction between a national REIT and a real estate development firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The seller, Summit Healthcare REIT, divested a seniors housing community in Littleton, New Hampshire, The Village at Riverglen. Built in 2002, The Village at Riverglen features 60 beds across 50 independent... Read More »
  • CFG’s H1 Financing Volume

    Capital Funding Group’s bridge-to-HUD and HUD teams financed more than $930 million across 50 transactions in the first half of 2025. These financings included 14 HUD loans, 21 bridge loans and 15 accounts receivable loans for clients across the country. Managing Director of Real Estate Craig Casagrande originated a few transactions throughout... Read More »
  • Stabilized Class-A IL Community Secures Refinancing

    Greystone arranged a $43.5 million debt placement to refinance a seniors housing community in Oregon. The 142-unit property is a recently built and stabilized Class-A independent living community. The community had strong trailing cash flows, on a shorter trailing period, but an upward trend. The financing was sourced by David Young.  The... Read More »

Seniors Housing Occupancy Hits A New Low

NIC wrapped up its virtual conference this week, and it’s safe to say that those in attendance got a good education on what it’s like to close a deal during the pandemic, to operate communities safely and successfully, and (hopefully) when business will be back to normal. At the end of the conference, NIC also released its third-quarter occupancy numbers, and they showed the industry has a long road to recovery. Across the 31 primary markets, seniors housing average occupancy fell from 84.7% in the second quarter to 82.1% in the third quarter, a drop of 260 basis points. That followed a 280-basis point decline in the second quarter.   Clearly, COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns... Read More »
The Virtual NIC

The Virtual NIC

This year’s NIC Conference will certainly be different, but let’s make the most of the digital social experience. As you can see, I am not Steve. Ben Swett here, filling in while Steve is out of the office. Next week is the start of the first virtual NIC Conference, and even though we would obviously rather see all of you in person, we hope to still see you virtually. Over the next two weeks, there will be plenty of educational sessions on finance and the impact of the current pandemic on operations, census and, of course, cash flow. And if you are into nursing homes, where else can you find a former CMS administrator and the current CEO of AHCA at the same place? I know we’re... Read More »
Average Assisted Living Occupancy Falls To New Low

Average Assisted Living Occupancy Falls To New Low

The latest occupancy numbers from NIC are in and hit another low that the industry will be spending months and probably years to rebound from. Perhaps most notably, in the three months ending in August, the assisted living market fell below an average of 80% occupancy for the first time ever, to 79.5%. That is a 60-basis point drop from July’s trailing-three month level, which may have shocked us in the past, but after the nearly 170-basis point fall from June, it could be worse.   To be fair, that is just across the 31 Primary Markets that NIC tracks for its quarterly results, but with COVID-19 affecting most localities nationwide and its economic ramifications even more widespread, we... Read More »
When in Need of Renovations

When in Need of Renovations

How often have you heard that the vast majority of skilled nursing facilities need substantial renovations in order to compete? Now, we are hearing it about all those assisted living communities built in the 1990s, and even the early 2000s. All of the new development in the past six or seven years has really caused owners and operators to take a hard look at their real estate and decide what to do. What needs to be done to compete and how much will it cost? One of the nice things about going to a NIC conference is meeting new companies and people. One of the companies we met with, South Coast Improvement Company, specializes in renovating senior living buildings while the residents are... Read More »
The Virtual NIC

Of Ventas, Welltower and NIC

I know as one gets older, confusion can become more common. And today, I am a little confused about the state of the senior living industry. -Sponsored by The Senior Care Acquisition Reports   NIC MAP has reported that maybe we have hit bottom in the third quarter, and that new construction starts are starting to decline, even though new openings remain high. Assisted living occupancy, while posting a small sequential increase, still remains far too low to get excited, but bottoming out would be welcome news. Then, Ventas reported its third quarter earnings, painting a not-so-pretty picture. Their RIDEA operating portfolio has not been performing well, posting a 5.0% decline in... Read More »