Seniors For Living

Though the market for single-family homes is still quite dead compared to the boom of several years ago, sales of senior housing portfolios are anything but.

A piece by Jane Adler, contributing writer for NREIOnline.com (National Real Estate Investor), states, “Sales of seniors housing portfolios are heating up as owners of multiple properties find it an opportune time to exit the market while buyers seek to expand their holdings.”

As per the article, Five Star Quality Care, a Massachusetts-based senior living provider, recently acquired six senior housing campuses in Indiana, with a price tag of $123 million. Five Star owns 27 properties, operates 228 senior living communities across the country, and leases/manages about 200 other facilities. Ensign Group Inc., a California-based buyer that owns and operates 96 properties, three hospice care companies, and three home care agencies, bought 9 nursing homes in the Midwest for $27.65 million.

Broker Mark Myers, the senior VP of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services in Chicago, believes that low interest rates and strong senior housing fundamentals make it an ideal time to sell. But it’s also a great time to buy, given the availability of more high-quality portfolios. He also adds, “It’s more work to buy a single property than a group.”