The average price paid per unit in assisted living communities hit a new record of $189,200 in 2015, topping the record set in 2014 by less than 1%, according to research from Irving Levin Associates that will be published in the 21st edition of “The Senior Care Acquisition Report.”
Capital, low interest rates and investor demand combined to make 2015 one of the most active in senior care property acquisitions, according to Irving Levin Associates.
“We knew some records were going to be broken, but the record number of individual transactions in 2015 demonstrates how strong investor demand continues to be for senior care properties,” said Stephen M. Monroe, editor of the report.
In 2015, 357 acquisitions were publicly announced. Despite being an 18% increase over 2014, the dollar value of the acquisitions totaled $14.2 billion, or 44% less than in 2014. The big difference between the two years, and what drove the decline in total dollar value, Irving Levin Associates said, was the near absence of billion dollar transactions; 2015 had one, at $1.125 billion, whereas 2014 had five, totaling approximately $9.7 billion.
Independent living was the only area in the senior care spectrum that saw a decline in average acquisition values, according to the report, which notes that that market is “much smaller” than the assisted living and skilled nursing acquisition markets. “The decline had more to do with an unusual increase in values the prior year based on an increase in higher quality portfolios and properties sold,” according to Irving Levin Associates.
Average independent living cap rates hit a record low of 6.96% despite the average price per unit dropping in 2015 from the record set in 2014.
