Senior-Housing Transparency a Refreshing Change

SAN DIEGO—In the early days of senior housing, it was difficult to find out any information about a senior-housing operator. Now, information is much more readily available, making the sector much more attractive to investors, DTZ's executive managing director David Rothschild tells GlobeSt.com. Rothschild and Mary Christian, senior managing director, recently joined the firm's San Diego-based senior-housing team, a national practice that represents owners of senior housing and long-term care properties. Additionally, Mariflor Bernal and Tina Climon have joined the firm as part of Rothschild's and Christian's client-support team. We caught up with Rothschild to discuss his goals in his new role at DTZ and trends he is noticing in the senior-housing sector.

GlobeSt.com: What are your goals in your new role with DTZ?

Rothschild: I spent a long time at CBRE and started a senior-housing group there, so now, coming over to DTZ as executive managing director, I'm hopefully going to build a good-sized senior-housing program here. I'm going to partner and collaborate with Allen McMurtry in Tampa, FL, who has been in the business for more than 20 years. I've worked with him and it's a good fit between his group in Tampa and my business in San Diego.

GlobeSt.com: What trends are you noticing in senior-housing finance?

Rothschild: Just like lots of different types of real estate, our market is as strong as I've ever seen it. The demographics are pretty strong, and they will continue to be such. Baby Boomers are just turning 65 now, and the average age in senior-housing facilities is 82 or 83, so that's a big number of seniors still 10 to 15 years away. I think that looks good for the future. Also, the marketplace has become much more transparent, and while it's maybe not a core asset class, it is getting very close to being that. When you look at all the different types of entities that are raising money to invest in senior housing, it's clear that the business has become much more sophisticated and professional since the '80s when I got into it.

GlobeSt.com: Has the recent ACA ruling by the Supreme Court had any impact on senior housing as you see it?

Rothschild: Obviously it's too soon to tell, but when we're talking about a lot of the independent-living, assisted-living and memory-care facilities, it's mostly private pay. In skilled nursing, it's a different world altogether—there is Medicaid and Medicare, and there are implications there with the ACA ruling—but right now I don't see foresee any major issues. We've not heard a lot of chatter about it like it's a concern. There hasn't bene much conversation about that with our clients.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about senior-housing finance?

Rothschild: It's still a growth business. We're seeing more and more construction, but still some markets are becoming a little overbuilt. But people get old everywhere, and this kind of product has become much more acceptable. When people understand it, they use it. It's a very healthy, thriving business and industry, and there's a tremendous amount of information out there for someone who wants to research it for an older family member. In the old days, it was hard to find out information about an operator, but now they can research who the operator is and if they're good. We're in a strong place right now, and this will continue into the future.