• Brookdale Occupancy Stalls

    Brookdale Senior Living released its November occupancy results, and its census growth has stalled this Fall. In its consolidated portfolio, weighted average occupancy fell by 10 basis points from 82.6% in October to 82.5% in November, while month-end occupancy dropped more significantly from 83.7% to 83.4%. Same-community results were not... Read More »
  • Well-Performing Facility Sells for Strong Price

    A rare skilled nursing and behavioral health facility in Tucson, Arizona, sold for a strong price to a partnership between a regional healthcare equity investor and a national skilled nursing operator. Featuring more than 140 beds, the facility is licensed by the state for both medical and behavioral health services, being the only SNF in the... Read More »
  • AL Community with Attached SNF Trades

    An assisted living community with an attached, vacant 65-bed skilled nursing facility in Faribault, Minnesota, sold with the help of Ray Giannini of Marcus & Millichap. Built in 1998, Pleasant View Estates features 36 units and a 75% elderly waiver census. The community was well-occupied and operated at a strong margin. It was previously... Read More »
  • Regional Bank Funds Dallas Development

    Construction projects, although rare, can still get done these days. Tremper Capital Group successfully secured an $84 million non-recourse loan from a regional bank to fund a development in the Dallas, Texas MSA. The 164-unit independent living, assisted living and memory care project is being built by Harbert South Bay Partners in the... Read More »
  • UMRH Expands Two CCRCs in North Carolina

    Ziegler closed The United Methodist Retirement Homes’ (UMRH) $92.125 million Series 2025A, 2025B and 2025C bonds. UMRH is a North Carolina-based not-for-profit corporation that owns and operates three CCRCs in North Carolina: Croasdaile Village Retirement Community in Durham, Wesley Pines Retirement Community in Lumberton, and Cypress Glen... Read More »
REITs Remained Active In May

REITs Remained Active In May

A couple of REITs announced transactions at the end of May: a small one in North Dakota and one large deal abroad. First, North Dakota-based Edgewood Real Estate Investment Trust announced it plans to acquire a financially distressed senior living community in the town of Dickinson (western North Dakota). The seller was First International Bank and Trust, which foreclosed on the community in 2015. Dickinson State University owns the land the community sits on, and will continue to do so. Edgewood will lease the community to its operating subsidiary, Edgewood Healthcare, upon closing. Then across the pond, Omega Healthcare Investors vastly increased its holdings in the United Kingdom,... Read More »

The REIT Price for Seniors Housing

Last week, we looked at the price REITs paid on average for skilled nursing facilities in 2016, according to the 22nd Edition of The Senior Care Acquisition Report, compared with other buyers in the industry. But what about in seniors housing? REITs have been far more active buyers in the space, with many of the private REITs getting involved in a sector with less stroke-of-the-pen risk (in fact, they bought five seniors housing properties to every one skilled nursing facility in 2016). Also, most of the revenue collected by assisted living or independent living communities comes from private payers, and REITs tend not to purchase those assisted living communities with significant, if any,... Read More »
What Do The REITs Know?

What Do The REITs Know?

When the Big Three healthcare REITs (Ventas, HCP and Welltower) largely divested their skilled nursing portfolios in the past few years, it prompted questions about the industry’s health. The exodus was kicked off in August 2015 by Ventas, which spun out most its skilled nursing/post-acute care portfolio into a separate REIT, Care Capital Properties (which just this month agreed to merge with Sabra Health Care REIT). Then, effective November 1, 2016, HCP followed suit, in a spin-off of its troubled HCR ManorCare assets (over 320 properties) into Quality Care Properties. Finally, after over a year of denying any such move, Welltower sold a 75% stake in 28 Genesis Healthcare-operated... Read More »

The Santa Stock Rally Is Stalling

We were supposed to see stocks rise this month, but so far the market is down as are seniors housing stocks. So what happened to the Santa rally? While we still have a few weeks to go before the end of the year, the markets have been sinking, and almost all seniors housing and care stocks have dropped, with Brookdale Senior Living falling the most, with a loss in value of 12% since November 30. It has now dropped below the psychologically important $20 threshold, and any bad news could add insult to injury. The others are closer to a mid-single-digit decline this month, but with one glaring exception. That is The Ensign Group, which is up just over 2% this month as it keeps chugging along... Read More »

The Senior Care Pricing Disconnect

The public equity market for senior care operating companies and REITs is getting slammed, but the private investment market remains strong. The pricing disconnect continues. Public equity investors continue to slam the senior care operating companies and health care REITs. All one has to do is look at what has happened to Kindred Healthcare and Genesis Health this past week or two, when both companies dropped to new lows and have not yet recovered. Fears of reimbursement pressure, fears of OIG investigations, fears of staffing costs. All have some degree of merit, but it seems like an overreaction to me. Just look at the private market, where both acquisition pricing and demand remain... Read More »