More than six months into a recession caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, investors have mixed views on the future of commercial real estate, including senior housing. That’s according to the newly released National Real Estate Investor/Marcus & Millichap Investor Sentiment Survey.
Specifically, the survey found that investors believe property values over the next 12 months are anticipated to rise by an average of 3% within seniors housing. That’s a smaller increase than that expected within industrial (5.7%), self-storage (5.6%) and apartments (5.1%). Hotels, retail and office, however, are expected to see drops in their property values of 7.7%, 6.8% and 5% respectively.
Almost 700 private investors and developers of commercial real estate participated in the survey, which was conducted Aug. 20 to 30.
Views varied widely with regard to when investors thought it was a better time to buy, hold or sell properties across different sectors. In most cases, a bigger number of respondents said it was better to hold. Several sectors demonstrated strong buyer sentiment, however, including industrial at 49%, office and seniors housing each at 41%, and apartments at 38%. Among investors who already are active in a particular property type, however, favorable views on buying increased for industrial and senior housing to 60% and 59% respectively.
“Most investors see seniors housing as a long-term investment, and they are more focused on future demand as baby boomers age,” Todd Lindblom, national director of Marcus & Millichap’s Seniors Housing division, told NREI. “So, short-term sentiment wasn’t impacted as much because of the long-term nature of that asset class.”
