First-quarter 2016 investment return data for the NCREIF-reported seniors housing properties was strong. Total returns equaled 3.23%, composed of a 1.80% capital return and a 1.43% income return. The annual total return through the first quarter of 2016 was an impressive 14.52%, overshadowing the NPI result of 11.84% and the apartment result of 10.92%.

Third-quarter 2016 investment return data for the NCREIF-reported seniors housing properties equaled 2.22%, composed of a 0.80% capital return and a 1.41% income return. The annual total return through the third quarter of 2016 was 13.11%, overshadowing the NPI result of 9.22% and the apartment result of 8.46%.

For many investors, the combined components of real estate, hospitality, and needs-driven services give seniors housing and care properties a unique resiliency, offering the benefits of real estate investment along with the strength of the health care field. This resiliency was evident during the real estate downturn of 2008–2009, when seniors housing and care properties outperformed other commercial real estate property types in terms of investment returns and rent growth.

The NCREIF Property Index (NPI) is a leading U.S. quarterly time series composite total rate of return measure of investment performance (gross of fees) of a very large pool of individual commercial real estate properties acquired in the private market for investment purposes only. NCREIF is the acronym for the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries. All properties in the NPI have been acquired, at least in part, on behalf of tax-exempt institutional investors – the great majority being pension funds.

Over the past 10 years, the nominal returns on the seniors housing properties within NCREIF’s database (but which are not included in the NPI) have outperformed the nominal performance return measurements for the broad NPI as well as for the other individual NPI indices. Seniors housing has also outperformed the NPI property types in terms of the appreciation and income components.

On a 10-year basis, publicly-traded health care real estate investment trusts (REITs), for which seniors housing and care properties represent a significant share of their investment portfolios, outperformed the FTSE NAREIT Equity REIT Index (NAREIT) and the S&P 500 Index.