ASHA, Seniors Housing Business Release 2017 List of Largest Owners, Operators

by Jeff Shaw

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) has released the 2017 version of the ASHA 50, which ranks the largest 50 owners and operators of seniors housing communities in the United States.

Based in Washington, D.C., ASHA is a research and advocacy organization for the seniors housing industry. To view the results of the ASHA 50, produced by Seniors Housing Business, click here to view the digital edition.

To determine the top 50 owners and operators, ASHA assembled a list of prospective ranked companies. A senior officer from each firm provided current holdings as of June 1 of this year. Data was also used from outside sources, such as public filings.

For the purposes of the results, rankings are based on seniors housing units, which include independent living units, assisted living beds, memory care units and skilled nursing beds. They include both rent-based and entry-fee-based units designed and operated exclusively for seniors.

Owner-operator Brookdale Senior Living once again took the top spot for both lists, with an ownership portfolio of 70,440 units (835 properties) and operational portfolio of 102,055 units (1,048 properties). Brookdale’s portfolio size declined for the second consecutive year, but it is still far and away the largest operator — followed by Holiday Retirement (37,523 units) and LCS (34,400 units).

The “Big Three” of the publicly traded healthcare REITs are the next largest owners. Welltower (NYSE: HCN) was second largest with 65,428 units. Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) was third with 59,154 units, followed by HCP Inc. (NYSE: HCP) with 46,031 units.

There was only one change among the 10 largest owners. Enlivant, based in Chicago, increased their holdings by more than 1,000 units and ranked among the largest 10 owners for the first time.  Both National Health Investors (NYSE: NHI) and Harrison Street Real Estate Capital also grew their portfolios by more than 1,000 units.

The top 10 operators also largely stayed the same, with only a few companies switching places.

To view the full ASHA 50 results, produced by Seniors Housing Business, click here to view the digital edition.

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