Toledo, OH-based real estate investment trust Welltower’s investment pipeline was “robust” in the first quarter, according to a business update the REIT issued to investors Thursday in conjunction with upcoming investor meetings.
Welltower recently has announced or completed the deployment of approximately $1.3 billion in capital, making the first quarter one of the most active starts to the year for investment activity in the REIT’s history, the company said. The firm also has announced or completed approximately $7 billion of capital deployment since October 2020.
The near-term capital deployment pipeline includes opportunities across all property types and capital structures, Welltower said. The company also said it sees significant long-term capital deployment opportunities in the investment pipeline and is looking at deploying more than $2.5 billion annually during the next decade.
Occupancy is good since the omicron variant has subsided. Year-over-year average occupancy growth for the first quarter is expected to exceed the previous assumption for a 420 basis point (4.2%) increase, the REIT reported. Sequential average occupancy growth from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 also is expected to exceed previous expectations for approximately flat growth.
According to Welltower, staff COVID-19 cases at communities in its portfolio have declined by approximately 90% since January, and most communities had returned to pre-omicron staffing levels through March. With the decline in COVD-19 cases among workers, most communities have reduced their use of agency labor, and Welltower expects related expenses to moderate through the second quarter and then decline substantially in the second half of the year, barring a surge in coronavirus cases.
March 6, the REIT announced plans to expand an existing partnership with StoryPoint Senior Living in a $548 million deal. The transactions are expected to be funded through the issuance of operating partnership units, assumed debt and cash on hand, Welltower said.
