Mainstay Financial Services

Could the home be more than where aging occurs? Could it also help fund the care an older adult eventually needs? In the latest edition of Senior Housing Unfiltered, Mainstay Financial Chief Investment Officer Tod Petty examines how accumulated home equity could help address one of senior housing’s most difficult challenges: serving middle-income older adults who have too many resources to qualify for many public programs, but not enough income to sustain traditional private-pay rates. The opportunity has two sides. Families need practical, voluntary ways to use housing wealth when a transition to senior housing becomes necessary. Operators and capital providers must also create communities with a lower real estate and capital basis—without reducing the care and support residents require. Pictured is Grace Manor Suites, a three-story, 68-unit assisted-living community created through the conversion of a former hotel in Lakeland, Florida. It represents the kind of adaptive-reuse thinking our industry must continue exploring as we work toward more attainable senior housing. Read The House Is Part of the Care Plan for Tod’s operator-informed perspective on home equity, affordability and the middle-market opportunity.

Middle-market senior housing is not simply an affordability challenge. It is a math problem. The demand is there. The challenge is creating a model where the numbers work—for the resident, the operator, and the capital behind the investment. That requires discipline across the entire equation: acquisition basis, renovation and development cost, operating efficiency, capital structure, and ultimately the monthly rate a resident can afford. At Mainstay Financial, this is more than a market thesis. It is increasingly central to how we think about acquiring, improving, operating, and capitalizing senior housing. Tod Petty explores the issue in “Middle Market Senior Housing Is a Math Problem.” There is no single lever that solves middle-market senior housing. The opportunity comes from making the entire equation work.

Senior housing is real estate—but its performance is inseparable from the operating business inside it. At Mainstay Financial, our investment perspective is informed by that reality. The quality and location of the asset matter, but so do leadership, staffing, sales discipline, resident experience, family trust, and daily execution. A sound investment thesis must account for both sides of the equation. In the latest edition of Senior Housing Unfiltered, our Chief Investment Officer, Tod Petty, examines what real estate investors often miss when evaluating senior housing—and why operational depth matters in underwriting, capital strategy, and long-term performance. The building creates the opportunity. What happens inside it determines the outcome. Read the full article:

Every senior housing investment begins with the fundamentals: market demand, location, replacement cost, capital structure, and basis. Every senior housing investment begins with the fundamentals: market demand, location, replacement cost, capital structure, and basis. But successful investing doesn’t stop there. The latest edition of Senior Housing Unfiltered explores why senior housing must be underwritten as both a real estate investment and an operating business. Leadership, staffing, sales execution, and the trust earned from residents and their families ultimately influence financial performance. Understanding both sides of that equation leads to better investment decisions.

Institutional capital is returning to senior housing, supported by improving occupancy, limited new supply, and strong demographic demand. Those fundamentals create opportunity, but they do not guarantee performance. In this edition of Senior Housing Unfiltered, Mainstay Financial Chief Investment Officer Tod Petty examines why operational capability must remain central to the investment thesis. Capital can acquire, improve, or refinance a community. The operator must convert that opportunity into occupancy, margin, reputation, and long-term value. Senior housing cannot be underwritten as passive real estate.

Senior housing continues to draw meaningful attention from institutional capital. Kayne Anderson Real Estate recently closed its largest equity fund ever, totaling more than $5 billion, with senior housing identified as one of the target sectors. For those following the space closely, this is another indication that the sector’s long-term fundamentals remain compelling. The thesis is not built on hype. It is built on demographics, limited new supply, rising construction costs, tighter lending conditions, and the continued need for well-operated communities that can serve an aging population with quality and consistency. As the sector matures, capital will matter. But operations will matter more. The next cycle in senior housing will reward disciplined ownership, strong local execution, thoughtful stewardship, and operators who can earn trust with residents, families, lenders, and stakeholders over time. At Mainstay Financial, we continue to believe senior housing is not simply a real estate category. It is an operating business with a real estate foundation — and long-term value will be created where capital strategy and operational discipline work together. Source: Senior Housing News

Senior housing does not have a technology problem. It has a capacity problem. Operators are not short on dashboards, alerts, reports, systems, sensors, or data. In many cases, they are drowning in them. The real question is not whether we can collect more information. It is whether we can turn information into clarity at the point where care, operations, staffing, and capital decisions actually happen. That distinction matters. Because the future of senior housing will not be defined by technology alone. It will be defined by operators who can use technology to increase human capacity, improve judgment, and strengthen execution. Tod Petty explores this idea in his latest Senior Housing Unfiltered article:

Senior housing demand is often evaluated through age bands, income levels, home values, household counts, adult child demographics, care needs, and competitive supply. Those measures matter. But they do not tell the full story. A recent map by Todd R. Jones, using U.S. Census Bureau ACS data, highlights the percentage of residents living in the same state where they were born. For senior housing investors and operators, that data raises an important question: how do people relate to place as they age? A rooted market and a mobile market may both present opportunity, but they may require different investment and operating assumptions. A rooted market may reward continuity, local trust, reputation, and long-standing referral relationships. A more mobile market may require stronger onboarding, hospitality, family communication, social integration, and intentional community formation. At Mainstay Financial Services, we believe senior housing investment requires both demographic discipline and operational insight. The numbers matter, but durable value is rarely created by demographics alone. Tod Petty explores this idea in a new Senior Housing Unfiltered article: The Overlooked Demand Signal in Senior Housing: Place Attachment

Rooted Markets vs. Mobile Markets: What Place Attachment Can Tell Us About Senior Housing Demand “Real estate is never just about geography. It is about human behavior anchored to place.” Senior housing demand is often evaluated through age bands, income levels, household counts, and demographic growth. Those measures matter, but they do not tell the full story. A market may look attractive on paper, yet the real opportunity is shaped by how people relate to place, family, care, independence, and community. This map from Todd R. Jones, using U.S. Census Bureau ACS data, highlights the percentage of residents living in the same state where they were born. On the surface, it is a demographic snapshot. Underneath, it points to a deeper question for senior housing investors and operators: are people aging in place within long-established local networks, or are they relocating and rebuilding connection later in life? In rooted markets, residents often have deep local ties. Adult children may live nearby. Churches, physicians, friends, civic organizations, and local businesses may have shaped their lives for decades. In these markets, senior housing demand is often influenced by trust, familiarity, reputation, and continuity. In more mobile markets, the demand picture can look different. Older adults may be relocating to be closer to adult children, access healthcare, reduce home maintenance, or pursue a new lifestyle. These residents may not simply be moving across town. They may be rebuilding belonging in a new place. That makes hospitality, onboarding, social integration, family communication, and culture-building especially important. Both types of markets can be attractive, but they are not the same opportunity. A rooted market may require a community that reflects local culture and honors established trust networks. A mobile market may require a community that helps residents feel known quickly and supports families through a more transitional decision process. At Mainstay Financial Services, we believe senior housing investment requires both demographic discipline and operational insight. The numbers matter, but they become more meaningful when paired with a deeper understanding of human behavior. The senior housing opportunity ahead remains significant. Demographic demand is real, but the best operators and investors will look beneath the surface and recognize that place attachment can be one of the most important demand signals in senior housing. Place matters. Belonging matters. Behavior matters. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 to 2024 5-year ACS, Table B05002. Visual by Todd R. Jones.

“Growth is only meaningful when it strengthens the people and places entrusted to us.” Mainstay Senior Living, together with Mainstay Financial Services, has completed the acquisition of Osprey Manor Fairway in Sebring, Florida. Located in the Sun ’N Lake community, Osprey Manor Fairway expands Mainstay’s Florida footprint and adds a 155 unit independent living and assisted living community in a market shaped by strong senior demographics, medical access, and lifestyle amenities. This acquisition reflects our continued focus on thoughtful growth across the Southeast: communities where operational discipline, resident experience, and long term stewardship can create durable value. Sebring is a market we know and believe in. With proximity to AdventHealth Sebring, surrounding residential density, golf and recreation amenities, and a deeply rooted retiree population, Osprey Manor Fairway fits well within Mainstay’s broader strategy. We are grateful for the teams, partners, residents, families, and associates who helped support this transition. The work ahead is both practical and personal: strengthen the community, support the team, and serve residents with consistency, dignity, and care. Onward in Sebring. Thoughtful growth. Purposefully executed.