• 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 »
Sabra Issues Business Update

Sabra Issues Business Update

This difficult winter is sparing few owners and operators in terms of occupancy and labor expenses. So, Sabra Health Care REIT was not alone in its latest quarterly earnings report, and in fact, things could have been worse. First, Sabra entered into a definitive agreement to amend its master lease with Avamere, effective February 1. This reduced annual based rent by roughly 30% to $30.7 million, or an annual run rate reduction of $0.06 per diluted common share. As a condition to the amendment, Avamere has paid past due rent for December 2021 totaling $3.6 million and has agreed to pay January 2022 rent totaling $3.7 million by March 25, 2022. Sabra does have the opportunity to recapture... Read More »
Sabra and Sienna Senior Living Join Up In Canada

Sabra and Sienna Senior Living Join Up In Canada

Sienna Senior Living has announced a strategic joint venture with Sabra Health Care REIT to purchase a $243 million (C$307.5 million) portfolio of eleven private-pay retirement residences in Ontario and Saskatchewan. This will be Sienna’s first venture into the Saskatchewan retirement market, with four of the 11 properties located in the province. The other seven properties are in various cities in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, where Sienna already maintains properties. Extendicare Inc. is the seller, and the portfolio represents all of its currently owned private-pay retirement properties in Canada. Both Sienna and Sabra will have 50% ownership of the high-quality, entirely... Read More »
Sabra Health Care REIT Resets With Major Tenant

Sabra Health Care REIT Resets With Major Tenant

The healthcare REITs and their triple net lease tenants, as well as their RIDEA managers, have had a tough two years. Some companies have been forced out of business completely, others have lost a portion of their portfolio, but many others have been able to work things out with their landlords. Such appears to be the case with Sabra Health Care REIT and Avamere Group. Our feeling has always been if you like your provider and do not think someone else could have done a better job, especially during this pandemic, then stick with them and work out a plan. Avamere is a substantial company, with 62 properties in eight states and a combination of skilled nursing facilities and... Read More »
Several Companies Report August Occupancy Gains

Several Companies Report August Occupancy Gains

Several companies have released occupancy updates for the month of August, and there were some mixed results. However, for the most part, these top players reported large basis-point gains over several months, and even between July and August. This consistency among businesses bodes well for a return to normalcy in the skilled nursing and seniors housing industries. After announcing their agreement to provide Recovery Centers of America with a $325 million mortgage loan this week, Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. reported occupancy gains across several of their portfolios. Among their top eight skilled nursing operators, they have seen a 554-basis point increase between late December 2020 to... Read More »
National Health Investors Cuts Dividend

National Health Investors Cuts Dividend

Even though National Health Investors didn’t have to cut its dividend, management made the prudent decision to reduce its quarterly dividend by 18% to 90 cents a share. The yield had been at the high end of its peers at 6.6%, and now it will be 5.4%. Even though at least one analyst last week came forward saying he didn’t think a cut would be made, the market shrugged off the news, with NHI shares dropping just 1.26%. Perhaps they should have gone bigger.  Coincident with the dividend announcement, NHI also announced one of its major tenants, Holiday Retirement Corporation, was going to defer $600,000 in monthly rent for May through July. NHI will take that deferred... Read More »