New facilities are built in areas of population growth to address this need as well as to replace existing, obsolete facilities. Technology demands will also require new infrastructure within different sectors of the medical industry. Within the broader category of healthcare real estate, single tenant medical office buildings (MOBs) fall into discrete uses, including special purpose facilities such as dialysis centers, cancer treatment centers, ambulatory surgery centers, eye surgery centers and offices that house a single physician practice or a small group of complementary practices.

In order to determine the viability of single tenant MOBs as real estate investments, we must understand both sides of the landlord/tenant relationship. The first question to address is, why do some medical providers choose to lease instead of own?

Capital is a resource that remains in high demand. The recent reduction of available mortgage loans for commercial properties has caused owners to be even more cautious in determining where and how to deploy their own capital. Physicians and other medical service providers who aren't required to spend their own funds towards the ownership of the real estate they occupy can utilize that money for business operations and to purchase newer or additional medical equipment.