Publicly announced seniors housing and care acquisitions totaled $1.4 billion in the first quarter of this year, a 78% drop in dollar volume compared with the fourth quarter of last year and a 45% drop from the first quarter of last year, according to acquisition data from Irving Levin Associates.
The number of announced individual transactions in the first quarter was 73, a decline of 22% from the fourth quarter and 13% lower than the year-ago quarter.
Activity typically slows in the first quarter of the year after the heavy volume of year-end closings, Steve Monroe, managing editor of the SeniorCare Investor and editor of the Senior Care Acquisition Report, said in a statement.
“The decline in activity represents a relatively new degree of caution in the market as buyers and their backers are showing a bit more concern over staffing, occupancy and reimbursement pressures,” he said. “In addition, some healthcare real estate investment trusts have been doing more selling than buying, which has helped shape a different investment environment.”
A big reason for the decline in total dollars spent, Monroe said, has been the paucity of transactions valued at more than $500 million. “That may change this year, as there have been rumors of several deals at this high level, and much higher,” he said.
