The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that seniors housing is emerging as the best part of the real estate investment trust (REIT) sector for investment. The Globe's Scott Barlow writes that one analyst, Scotiabank's Himanshu Gupta, published a report earlier this month outlining how seniors REITs benefit from demographics, government subsidies and predictable revenues, making them a solid choice for investor portfolios.
Mr. Gupta's report centred on long-term care (LTC) facilities rather than retirement homes. The former includes 24-7 support and significant public subsidies for nursing, nutrition and personal care. Retirement homes are resident-pay while LTC facilities are a co-pay arrangement between residents and government.
Demand is not an issue in the LTC sector; in Ontario, for example, there is a waiting list of 48,000 people. Even those who are not picky about where they find a bed are waiting a minimum of six months. Demand will only intensify as a greater share of the population reaches age 75 when they are likely to require support.
Scotiabank predicts that existing LTC operations will continue to generate predictable same-property net operating income roughly matching the inflation rate.
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