Healthcare No Longer a Niche Market

CHICAGO—Harrison Street Real Estate Capital just pulled off the biggest healthcare deal of the year, and Mindy Berman, the managing director of JLL, which brokered the 12-asset, $283 million sale, tells GlobeSt.com that the offering generated greater interest from investors than normally seen, partly due to the growing importance of medical office in general, and partly due to the way the Chicago-based Harrison carefully constructed this specific portfolio. The investors who bought the properties were not disclosed.

“There is an insatiable appetite for healthcare real estate,” she says. “As values among the more traditional sectors like office, industrial and others keeps growing, investors are realizing that medical office buildings offer secure, long-term cash flow and strong credit tenants,” especially properties affiliated with major hospital groups. “I can get returns 100 bps higher from medical office buildings than these other real estate types.”