WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA), in partnership with Seniors Housing Business, has released the 2019 edition of the ASHA 50, which ranks the 50 largest owners and operators in the U.S. seniors housing space.
Based in Washington, D.C., ASHA is a trade association that advocates for and represents companies that develop, own, operate and finance seniors housing. The ASHA 50 rankings are based on self-reported portfolio sizes, ranked by total number of units, as of June 1, 2019. Data was also used from other reliable sources, such as public filings.
Massive, publicly traded owner-operator Brookdale (NYSE: BKD) finally fell from its long-held spot as the largest owner, falling behind the two largest REITs in the industry. Welltower is now the largest owner in the space, followed by Ventas.
Brentwood, Tenn.-based Brookdale continues to dominate the operator space with a total of 811 properties and 76,803 units in its portfolio. Although this number has fallen significantly over recent years — the company operated 1,048 properties and 102,055 units in the 2017 rankings — the current numbers are still well over double the next largest company. The second-place finisher, Des Moines-based LCS, operates 130 properties and 35,543 units.
Brookdale’s stock price has struggled since its acquisition of fellow owner-operator giant Emeritus Corp. in 2014. The company is undergoing a huge restructuring under CEO Lucinda Baier.
The large REITs, meanwhile, have been increasing their size as Brookdale has reduced its own. Welltower grew from is 645 communities totaling 65,141 units in 2018 to 735 communities totaling 72,881 units in 2019.
To view the entire ASHA 50 supplement, click here.