The Radius+ team had a great time at SSA in Las Vegas this past week connecting with vendors and other industry professionals. The main topics of conversation was, the REITs pricing strategy, ways that smaller franchises and operators can compete in such a competitive market, and acquisitions volume picking up.
With the REITs significantly dropping asking rates compared to last year in order to drive occupancy, it has been a topic of wonder how they were able to increase their same store revenue YoY. It has been through levying larger rate increases on their existing tenants. While effective in driving revenue and occupancy in a long term strategy, whereas many operators don’t have the war chest to offer such extensive price reductions in the first few months a tenant is renting with them.
Conversations at SSA pointed towards having a strong google profile and online presence as key ways for a facility to survive in this competitive market. Being able to be found on google is a critical step for smaller operators looking to hone their edge.
Speaking with brokers at the trade show revealed that sellers are beginning to come to terms with the fact that last year's price is not this year's price. Brokers mentioned that budging on unrealistic selling prices could lead to more acquisition volume in the coming months.
