Health Care Property Investors Inc., a Newport Beach real estate investment trust, sold seven assisted-living facilities with 774 units for $51.6 million in two separate transactions. Two Portland, Ore.-based companies, Regent Assisted Living Inc. and Encore Senior Living, bought the properties.
The price was 10 times 2000 rents, according to Health Care Property Investors. The company said it recorded a book gain of approximately $4.8 million.
The sales temporarily will reduce Health Care Property Investors’ overall investment in the assisted-living sector, said Kenneth Roath, chairman and chief executive, in a statement.
“For some time, there has been slower-than-anticipated lease-up in this sector, which may be attributable to overbuilding in some areas. That has materialized in a shortage of working capital for many operators and could at some time provide a favorable investment opportunity for the company,” Roath said. “We have learned over the years that, where there is uncertainty in a sector, there is frequently opportunity.”
Long-term, Health Care Property Investors remains “cautiously committed to investing in the assisted-living sector of our business,” Roath added.
