Senior Real Estate

If you’re interested in investing in real estate without taking title of any property, consider a real estate investment trust (REIT), a dividend-paying company that owns or finances income-producing properties. A particularly promising one is Ventas (NYSE: VTR).

One of the largest health care property owners in the United States, Ventas boasts more than 1,200 properties, the majority of which are senior housing. Medical offices, post-acute care properties, life science facilities and health system real estate make up the rest.

Wall Street is putting pressure on Ventas’ shares because rising interest rates mean more competition for investor dollars for high-yield investments such as REITs. (Ventas’ shares recently sported an appealing dividend yield of 5.8 percent.) But the trends driving this REIT’s future haven’t changed. For example, 10,000 baby boomers are turning Medicare-eligible daily, the 75-plus age group is the fastest-growing age demographic, and those 65 and older spend five times more on health care than younger age groups do. All of this spells huge demand for health care in the years ahead — and for the property needed to administer all that care.

In addition, the existing health care real estate market is more than $1 trillion in size and is less than 15 percent REIT-owned, reflecting lots of opportunity for consolidation and further acquisitions for Ventas. Long-term dividend-seeking investors should give this stock serious consideration.