Investors choosing medical real estate as safe haven

As the credit markets continue to struggle, commercial real estate investors have begun to look at medical real estate as a safe haven, according to healthcare investment banking firm Cain Brothers. Since the market began to melt down in 2007, commercial real estate transaction rates have slowed drastically. However, medical real estate investment has resisted this trend, Cain analyst Sean Tu notes. For the 12-month period ending March 2008, more than $5 billion of medical office assets were traded, up 28 percent from the previous year. While general office sales dropped 15 percent, the percentage of medical office sales specifically rose 6 percent. Investors are drawn to healthcare real estate, in part, because tenants tend to sign long leases and the demand for healthcare continues to grow.

To learn more about the medical real estate market:
- read this Cain Brothers analysis (.pdf, page 3)

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