Medical Office Buildings Draw Stronger Interest From Institutional Investors in U.S.

According to a new report from CBRE, strong fundamentals have increasingly made U.S. medical office real estate a favorite of institutional investors, keeping investment volumes at high levels and capitalization rates low this year in relation to conventional offices. CBRE's report cites several factors behind the continued popularity of medical office, including a steady vacancy rate at 10.3 percent despite a 10-year high in construction completions in the second quarter, a sustained increase in average asking rents since 2013, and strong demand for health-care services due to an aging population and other demographic trends. As a result, transaction volume for medical office buildings stands 50 percent higher this year than before the recession, though it has receded from its early-2018 peak. Foreign investors, domestic institutions and real estate investment trusts are steadily getting more active the medical office market. Cap rates - a measure of a property's income as a percentage of its price - for medical offices have pulled even with those of conventional offices after years of registering higher.