Las Vegas Record: $325K Per Bed
Someone paid $52 million for 160 beds in Vegas - $325,000 per bed - and Evans Senior Investments put out a press release that basically said "we told you geniuses the market was hot but you didn't listen." State record for Nevada.
Three times the national average.
The buyer supposedly saw "operational upside" which is broker-speak for "the current operator is leaving money on the table." ESI's message to owners thinking about selling: "2026 is your year." They're not wrong, but they also get paid when you sell, so...
West Virginia Record: $274K Per Bed
Governor Morrisey sold four state-owned nursing homes - 511 beds, $6 million annual losses, $100 million in deferred maintenance - for $274,000 per bed to Marx Development Group.
For money-losing facilities! Majestic Care is taking over operations and their CEO basically said two of the buildings need to be torn down. One of these places had a patient die in scalding bathwater last year. But the Medicaid rates in West Virginia are apparently so good that buyers were fighting over this portfolio anyway. L'chaim to favorable reimbursement, I guess.
The Mystery Deal: Tara Cares → Cascade Capital ($545M)
Nu, someone just moved 5,000 beds across seven states for $545 million and the whole thing was done so quietly you'd think they were trying to hide it from a shadchan. $109K per bed for this kind of footprint? That's not a deal, that's a heist. Mazel tov to whoever pulled this off without anyone noticing.
CareTrust Keeps Buying ($437M)
CareTrust dropped $437 million cash - cash! - on 12 SNFs in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic like they were buying a round of drinks. CEO Dave Sedgwick called it "déjà vu" because apparently spending half a billion dollars a year is just Tuesday for these guys. This brings their 2025 total to $1.6 billion deployed. $248K per bed means they're paying retail, but when you're a REIT with this kind of access to capital, who cares? They keep saying SNF is their "bread and butter" while also chasing UK care homes. When someone with this much money is this aggressive in our sector, you pay attention.
PACS Group Expands To Tennessee (11 SNFs, 1,310 Beds)
PACS closed on 11 Tennessee facilities and now they're in 17 states with 38 new buildings since October. Kein ayin hara, that's impressive growth. They're bragging about their 4.0 star rating and above-average occupancy. What they're not mentioning: the federal investigation, the restated financials, the NYSE sending them angry letters, and the CFO who's suddenly "interim." CEO says they're "on solid footing."
Omega + Saber = "The Private Ensign" ($222M JV)
Omega's Taylor Pickett called Saber "essentially the private Ensign" and if you know anything about this industry, you know that's the highest compliment a REIT guy can give an operator. The deal is meshuggeneh in a good way: $222 million JV for 64 facilities, plus another $93 million for a piece of Saber's operating company. Omega gets a 9.3% yield (just nod and pretend you get this) and actual alignment with an operator they trust. Bill Weisberg has been quietly building Saber into a 139-facility monster and now he's got a REIT partner who actually likes him. This is what happens when the money people and the operations people aren't fighting. Take notes.