Berkadia Podcast Delves into Fast-Growing Senior Living Sector

The latest Emerging Trends report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute puts seniors housing, along with data centers, at the head of the list of commercial property types for investment and development prospects. With the youngest of the Baby Boom generation now in their early 60s, seniors housing certainly has demographic tailwinds propelling it. Limited new supply is another plus. 

However, succeeding in the sector requires a great deal of heavy lifting, according to experts interviewed by Berkadia EVP and Head of Production Ernie Katai on the recent “Investing in the Future of Senior Living Communities” segment of Inside the Deal, a CRE Podcast by Berkadia®. 

In a senior living community, “You’re taking care of people, you’re solving for loved ones,” Leo Brown Group President Mike Wagner said on the podcast. “So beautiful buildings are great, technology’s great, AI’s really neat, but if your food’s no good and you’re not hiring the right people and people aren’t having fun in your building, you’re not going to be successful in this business.” 

Wagner, whose company develops and manages senior living properties, said he’s seen would-be operators crossing over from the hospitality and multifamily sectors. Some have succeeded, but others have gotten out as they realized that it’s a 24/7/365 business. 

Conversely, “If you can do senior living, whether that’s through development, operations or brokerage, I firmly believe you can go into just about any other real estate silo out there,” said Dave Fasano, Dallas-based Managing Director for Berkadia Seniors Housing & Healthcare.  

Notwithstanding the challenges, the senior living investor pool has been getting increasingly crowded. “Throughout 2025, while cap rates have been decreasing, prices per unit have been exploding,” Fasano said. “It’s gotten super competitive. Investors are really looking for the right operating partner.” 

Fasano executed four senior living sales during the third quarter, each in a different state and divided between urban and rural locations. “Age doesn’t know a geography,” he said. 

What three of the four properties had in common was “the full continuum of care,” namely, independent living, assisted living and memory care. “The investment thesis in senior living has really progressed towards that full continuum,” said Fasano. “In most instances, you want that full continuum.”  

He continued, “As the senior ages, they move in through independent [living]. As they need more services and care, they’ll move into assisted living. And if unfortunately, they start to develop dementia and memory care issues, you also have that service there. So, the way senior living providers and developers and owners really look at the space is taking care of the resident from the moment they need any level of care.” 

The most difficult aspect of one of those Q3 deals was that it didn’t cover the full continuum, only assisted living and memory care. “That inherently is not a flaw,” Fasano explained. “It just removes a number of the targeted investors who don’t get that full continuum of care that has become such a popular investment thesis throughout the year.” 

Replays of the full podcast discussion among Katai, Fasano and Wagner are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and iHeartPodcasts. 

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