Independent and assisted living are operating businesses as much as real estate, and the K-Deal tape prices them that way. In the securitizations closed from January through August 2026, the coupon premium is the widest of any specialty class, value per unit is the highest in the tape, and occupancy has risen for 20 consecutive quarters.
- Loans tracked 14 · 2,067 units
- Cut-off loan balance $483M
- Appraised value per unit $374K
- Weighted cap rate 6.29%
How the loans are priced.
The weighted coupon is 5.73 percent, about 49 basis points over conventional loans of the same term. Loan-to-value is 62.9 percent and coverage is 1.42x. The debt yield is 10.0 percent against 8.4 percent for conventional apartments, and the capitalization rate is 6.29 percent against 5.43 percent, a spread of about 86 basis points. Value is $374,000 per unit, the highest in the tape, against $220,000, and the loan is $233,000 per unit against $141,000. Seventy-one percent of the balance is 10-year. None of it is full-term interest-only. Eight of the 14 loans are independent living, and no state is more than 15 percent of the balance.
The operation.
Occupancy was 89.9 percent in the second quarter of 2026, the twentieth straight quarter of gains: 91.3 percent in independent living and 88.4 percent in assisted living. Fewer than 16,000 units were under construction. Expenses absorb 66.9 percent of revenue, against 41.6 percent for conventional apartments, because staffing, dining and care sit inside the building. Revenue per unit is roughly three and a half times a conventional apartment, so net operating income is still about $23,500 per unit, the highest in the tape. Communities built since 2010 appraised at a median $402,000 per unit against $351,000 for older stock. The vintage premium is small because the operator and the care mix drive value as much as the building.
What that means for debt.
An illustrative coupon, marked to Treasuries at the end of September 2026, is about 6.77 percent — roughly 104 basis points above the first-half pricing in the tape. Sized to 1.40x coverage on a 30-year amortization, the loan is about $212,000 per unit, 9 percent below the $233,000 in the tape. Lenders underwrite the manager’s record, occupancy history and staffing alongside the real estate. With expenses near two-thirds of revenue, trailing margins and wages set the proceeds more than rent growth does.
Loans are identified by market only. Debt figures are illustrative, marked to Treasuries as of 28 September 2026. For discussion only; not a valuation opinion, investment advice, or an offer to lend.