In the real estate world, every developer needs a secret weapon. Superman has his lasso of truth, Batman his batmobile, Spider-Man his tingling web sense. For healthcare real estate professionals, strategic data and powerful analytics are their new superhero powers.

Demand for healthcare properties remains robust despite uncertainty in other commercial sectors. The aging baby boomer generation and the coronavirus pandemic have contributed to the growing need for medical office buildings, freestanding medical facilities, and ambulatory surgery centers, among other types of properties.

While the need for these facilities isn’t going away, there are a number of shifts affecting the sector that may make them less appealing to investors. For example, the rising popularity of retail-like clinics and ambulatory surgical centers has created a new type of user that doesn’t require the large, hospital-anchored medical campus typical of the traditional healthcare real estate sector. These facilities are more flexible and often offer a higher yield, which makes them attractive to some investors.

Another shift is the increasing preference for consolidated healthcare assets that serve multiple user groups and deliver cost savings by combining clinical and research activities in one space. This is creating a need for larger, adaptive reuse properties that can accommodate multiple healthcare providers and also serve as a hub of care in the local community. These types of assets are becoming more sought after by private investors, who have become a more significant buyer pool than hospital REITs, which typically carry large debt that reduces their flexibility during economic downturns. healthcare real estate insights