Healthcare Real Estate Insights: InterFace panelists see that as a positive sign for the MOB investment market

LOS ANGELES – Although many professionals involved in medical outpatient building (MOB) and healthcare real estate (HRE) facility sales have been saying that they foresee an increase in the sales volume in 2025, not all of the panelists taking part in a recent state-of-the-sector discussion were completely convinced such a turnaround is a foregone conclusion.

Of the five panelists, one said sales would be “slightly down,” one said they would be “flat” and the other three said sales would go “up” in the coming year.

The person asking the question was the moderator, Matthew Tarpley, managing director of healthcare and real estate investment banking with New York-based Fifth Third Securities Inc. 

One of the optimistic panelists, David Lynn, CEO of Monterey, Calif.-based Unity Medical Properties LLC, noted that he believes sales will increase this year because “there’s a lot of pent-up equity out there, and even (pent up) debt providers.

“And, if the (U.S. Federal Reserve Bank) gets back to cutting interest rates, and if inflation, as inflation has been the elephant in the room and is caused by printing money and spending money… I think the government’s not going to spend more money going forward, is my guess, and I don’t think they’re going to print more money. That’s my hope.

“And if that’s the case, and then (in considering) the employment data from last year, which I do not think was quite accurate, and so the economy is not all that great, particularly in employment, I think the Fed might be inclined, after two or three months or so, to hopefully begin cutting again. And I think there’s a lot of pent-up demand from investors on equity and even on debt, too.”

Messrs. Tarpley and Lynn were part of a state-of-the-sector panel during the recent 15th annual InterFace Healthcare Real Estate West Conference at the Omni Los

Angeles. Held on Feb. 19, the conference was hosted by Atlanta-based France Media Inc. and its InterFace Conference Group.

The session was titled “State of the Industry Report & 2025 Outlook.”

The other panelists were the following:

■ Jeffrey Cunningham, managing partner with El Segunda, Calif.-based Medical Asset Management;

■ Kent Heller, director of leasing with Nashville, Tenn.-based Healthcare Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: HR);

■ Jason Magid, director of healthcare relationship management with Chicago-based Nuveen Real Estate; and

 ■ Andrew Saba, managing director with Los Angeles-based Stockdale Capital Partners LLC.

Less development has boosted occupancies:

Mr. Cunningham was the panelist who was not necessarily convinced that MOB and HRE sales would increase in the year ahead, as he said he does not believe that all of the change currently taking place is conducive to such a rise.

Source: Healthcare Real Estate Insights "InterFace panelists see that as a positive sign for the MOB investment market." April 2, 2025