Healthcare REITs: Signs of Life
- Healthcare REITs - which have been "ground-zero" of the coronavirus pandemic - have shown signs of life over the past quarter on stabilizing fundamentals and on hopes of a potential vaccine.
- For senior housing REITs, in particular, the pandemic has put a significant dent in near-term demand and has driven significantly higher expenses, but interim updates suggest the worst is behind us.
- Despite the headwinds, Healthcare REITs reported near-perfect rent collection outside of the senior housing sub-sector. Five healthcare REITs have reduced dividends this year while three have raised.
- The positive long-term outlook for senior housing remains intact as the long-awaited demographic-driven demand boom is finally arriving. Attitudes towards senior housing need to be monitored.
- No healthcare REIT sector is entirely immune from the long-term consequences of the pandemic. Even the "safe haven" Medical Office Building sub-sector faces pressures from the dramatically increased use of telemedicine.
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