Investors Expect Big Second Half: MOB Buyers Discuss State Of Market During InterFace Webinar

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After the initial shock of the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, it looks as if the healthcare industry, and subsequently the healthcare real estate (HRE) sector, is getting back on track.

“We collected 96 percent of our rents (in April), but the providers and our tenants were really scared,” said Chip Conk, CEO and founder of Nashville, Tenn.-based Montecito Medical Real Estate, which has a portfolio of about 3 million square feet of medical office space under management. “They didn’t know anything about what was really going to happen. However, by last week, we have seen from our tenants, I think, a little bit of stabilization in terms of where they are psychologically, and we actually had some requests that got totally paid back. Overall, the sector, at least our tenants, seems to be stable … COVID could come back, but overall we’re feeling a lot better than we were 90 days ago, as a company.”

As a result of such stability in the HRE sector, demand and pricing remain quite strong for medical office buildings (MOBs), according to panelists who took part in a June 10 webinar exploring how the sector is faring during the pandemic.

Sponsored by Atlanta-based Interface Conference Group, part of France Media Inc., the event was titled, “State of the Industry: What’s the Outlook for 2020 from an Investment, Development and Leasing/Operations Perspective?”

In addition to Mr. Conk, the discussion, moderated by Mindy Berman, senior managing director and an MOB sales broker with Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE: JLL), also included: Robert Hull, executive VP with Nashville-based Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE: HR); and Peter Westmeyer, president and managing principal with Chicago-based MBRE Healthcare.

As noted, the strength of the MOB sector amid the fallout from the pandemic has kept the product type on the radar screens of many investors, according to the panelists, whose firms are among those that have remained as active as possible in the market.

 

Source: HREI

COVID-19 Will Accelerate Property Repurposing

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In many ways, COVID-19 is accelerating transitions that had already been occurring in the commercial real estate world.

“People think we should open up the economy sooner,” says Newmeyer Dillion partner Mike Krueger. “But I don’t think anybody’s saying that this isn’t going away anytime soon.”

Ultimately, Krueger predicts that COVID-19 will force “some very creative repurposing of properties.”

“We’re going to see very creative developers come in and repurpose those properties for their next use,” Krueger says. “At this stage, we don’t even know what the best use of some properties will be.”

Krueger says that is already happening in malls. In some places, they’re being repurposed by medical organizations.

“You may have a J.C. Penney’s in a huge building that could be perfect for an oncology department or maybe perfect for outpatient medical treatment,” Krueger says. “The rest of the stores might still be vacant, but that one building is great for that a medical use.”

Malls may have other advantages for conversion to other uses. For instance, a large mall will be ADA compliant.

“It’s going to have elevators and escalators,” Krueger says “Maybe an abandoned mall is a perfect opportunity to put a nursing home or some assisted living facility because you already have all these access points.”

Malls, which are also near public transit and bus lines, would also provide plenty of space to create completely independent units that are not on central air, if ventilation is a concern, according to Krueger.

“I think we’re still waiting on a lot of guidance,” Krueger says. “The insurance companies are really going to be the ones that are going to dictate this.”

But malls are just one example of how COVID-19 could change spaces.

“We are now looking at a complete revolution in what retail and commercial spaces are going to look like, especially in the restaurant industry,” Krueger says. “Depending on where you are, you’re going to have different counties with different restrictions. At least in the Bay area, we know that the post-COVID-19 restaurant experience is not going to be the same as pre-COVID-19, namely and the occupancy space.”

Offices are another place ripe for change. While teleworking had been growing steadily as a trend for a while, Newmeyer Dillion partner Mike Krueger thinks the news that Twitter is allowing its employees to work remotely indefinitely will spark discussions at a lot of large firms in The Bay Area.

“For large tech companies that are renting out giant spaces in downtown San Francisco or anywhere in the Bay area, anywhere where commercial real estate is very expensive,” Krueger says. “Now, all of a sudden, you see some of the most visible tech companies out there saying, ‘We don’t even need our commercial space.’ I think you’re going to see a significant change around what that space is going to be useful and how that space is being used.”

 

Source: GlobeSt.

Medical Office Rents Weather The COVID-19 Storm

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The medical office sector hasn’t been immune from issues caused by COVID-19.

But Kyle O’Connor, president and founder of MLL Capital, would still rather be in that commercial real estate asset class than any other part right now.

“The medical health care sector and the life science sector seems to be holding up a bit better than some other property types. Certainly, hotels or retail are having a different experience. For us, it’s one of the reasons why we liked the sector and continue to like it a lot. We viewed the asset class as having a number of supportive features associated with it.”

Still, O’Connor says there are issues in the medical sector.

“A lot of people are very concerned that the risk of catching something in the doctor’s office might be greater than whatever the issue in the house. Over time, I think the expectation is that it will dissipate, and the need for those basic health care services will resume.”

In April, MLL, which has 15 buildings in the medical and life sciences sector, collected 97% of rents. In May, the company collected more than 97%. And, as things open up in June, O’Connor sees things improving further. America’s vast, aging baby boomer demographic is one reason that O’Connor likes the medical segment, but it’s not the only reason.

“We find that a lot of the practices are in relatively healthy condition. Their leverage levels tend to be lower in many cases. It is a business that does not have a lot of high highs or low lows.”

In a market where there’s still a lot of capital, and other sectors of CRE are floundering, O’Connor expects more interest in medical office properties. But interested buyers will run into roadblocks.

“Because of the specialty nature of the property types and the things that you learn by being in the space for a bit, I’m not concerned. It is a type of property where it’s very beneficial to have experience and knowledge. We don’t think it’s one that, you know, capital readily flows into. But investors are still taking a wait-and-see approach for the time being. For a small asset class like medical is, it’s too early to make any real prognostications. We do think that it is the right time to be in the market and looking for investment opportunities, which we’re trying to put a lot of energy into doing right now.”

Right now, O’Connor doesn’t see large loads of capital focused on the space.

“They may have some other opportunities that are distracting them or maybe presenting themselves.”

Right now, O’Connor sees that capital focused on other targets.

“I think if you’re an opportunistic fund, you’re probably spending a lot more time looking at the hotel sector, than you would be the medical sector. There’s probably distress pricing happening there. I’m sure some hotels are in default. Whereas, most medical office buildings have had a performing loan in March or probably still going to have a performing loan in the future.”

 

Source: GlobeSt.