Average year-over-year occupancy growth in the first quarter is expected to outpace previous predictions for a 420-basis-point (4.2%) increase, Welltower said Tuesday in a business update.
In addition, the Toledo, OH-based real estate investment trust said that sequential average occupancy growth from from the fourth quarter of last year through the first quarter is expected to exceed previous predicitons “for approximately flat growth.”
Spot occupancy has increased by approximately 400 basis points (4%) this quarter, with promises of significant acceleration into April, the REIT said. Almost all communities are accepting new residents, and tour activity has “increased meaningfully” as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Welltower.
Operators in the REIT’s portfolio are relying less on staffing agencies than they were previously during the pandemic, Welltower said, adding that the company expects expenses from the use of outside staff to decline substantially by the second half of the year, “barring an additional disruptive COVID-19 surge.” Staff COVID-19 cases have declined by approximately 90% since their peak in early January, and most communities have returned to pre-omicron staffing levels, the REIT said.
Welltower said that its investment pipeline is “robust,” with the REIT having announced or completed approximately $1.3 billion of capital deployment, making the first quarter “one of the most active starts to the year for investment activity” in the company’s history. Since October, the REIT has deployed or announced the intention to deploy approximately $7 billion of capital.
March 6, Welltower announced plans to expand an existing partnership with StoryPoint Senior Living in a $548 million deal.
