Well, the time certainly seems right to sell in 2017, as capitalization (cap) rates – the estimated first-year return on an investment – have reached all-time lows. Many high-quality portfolios and single MOBs with credit-rated tenants are trading at cap rates of 6 percent and below, some right around or even under 5 percent.

...although roughly 25% of inventory is investor owned nationally, the stats vary widely by metro. Some areas are predominantly owned by healthcare providers while other areas have a significant portion, sometimes majority, of the real estate owned by a third party - whether that be a REIT, institutional fund or private investor.

The portfolio includes several class A assets such as the Harker Heights Medical Pavilion which is 100% leased and on the campus of Seton Medical Center Harker Heights.

The Big Three healthcare REITs – HCP, Welltower and Ventas –remained disciplined with acquisitions while non-listed REIT fundraising has limited their supply of new investment capital.

In the medical office building (MOB) space, large portfolio sales involving publicly traded companies usually grab most of the headlines. Recent blockbuster deals include Physicians Realty Trust’s (NYSE: DOC) $700 million acquisition of more than 50 MOBs from Catholic Health Initiatives in 2016 and Healthcare Trust of America’s (NYSE: HTA) $2.25 billion purchase of more than 70 medical office properties from Duke Realty Corp. (NYSE: DRE) in recent months.

Record MOB sales in the first half of nearly $5.5 billion rivaled total volume in 2012 through 2014. The major reason was HTA’s $2.2 billion acquisition of the Duke Realty healthcare portfolio in June, leaving the balance of first half acquisitions at $3.2 billion, consistent with first half volume in 2015 and 2016 – years with record overall sales.

When Nashville-based Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE: HR) announced second quarter (Q2) earnings on Aug. 2, there was no hint that it had a major medical office building (MOB) portfolio acquisition in the works. In fact, President and CEO Todd Meredith seemed to suggest that the MOB space could be risky for imprudent investors.

Revista has posted the Mid -2017 Top 50 Metro Rankings Report for Medical Real Estate to its subscriber portal.

The Revista MOB Sector Fundamentals Report represents approximately 150M SF of data reported by major owners of medical office properties. Data are provided quarterly encompassing a portfolio as well as on a same store, year over year basis.

The biggest medical office building (MOB) deal of 2017 so far could have more of an impact on the healthcare real estate (HRE) sector than just making headlines.