**CRE Healthcare Trends: Steady Absorption, Muted Investment Activity**
Private investors continue to dominate healthcare real estate acquisitions, though hospitals and health systems are becoming increasingly active in the buyer’s market. Speaking at the Connect Healthcare Real Estate 2025 conference, held in Irvine on October 14–15, Revista research analyst Stephen Lindsey highlighted these shifting dynamics.
“That’s not necessarily because providers are selling at much higher dollar volumes,” Lindsey explained, “but more because the overall investment activity in the sector has slowed, making providers’ relative share appear more prominent.”
Collin Hart, CEO and Managing Director of ERE Healthcare Real Estate Advisors, agreed with this perspective. “The deals have remained consistent,” Hart noted, “but it looks inflated on the provider/seller side because overall deal volume is smaller.”
During their joint presentation, “Industry Overview: National Healthcare Real Estate Trends by the Numbers,” Lindsey provided data insights while Hart offered anecdotal commentary. Key topics included occupancy trends, capitalization (cap) rates, and construction activity across the sector.
Occupancy levels have been buoyed by a decline in new property deliveries following the COVID-19 pandemic. “In 2022 and 2023, we saw fewer new deliveries compared to demand,” Lindsey said. “That was mainly because construction activities were stalled during the pandemic’s peak.”
This decline in new developments helped propel occupancy rates higher. “With fewer deliveries in ’22 and ’23, we saw occupancies really start to rise,” said Lindsey. “Looking over 2024 and into 2025, new space is roughly aligning with absorption levels. Occupancy is still climbing slightly but remains relatively flat overall.”
As healthcare real estate continues to find stability in a muted investment climate, industry experts remain focused on balancing demand, construction timelines, and evolving investor behavior.
