CHICAGO—Medical office buildings were popular with investors throughout the recession, and now that the worst of the economic trouble has receded, investors have begun snapping them up at an even greater pace. The 62,000-square-foot Crystal Lake Medical Arts Building at 360 Station Drive in Crystal Lake is the latest MOB to change hands. EnTrust Realty Advisors, LLC just arranged its sale from a group of physicians, which developed the property, to American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust, Inc., a publicly-registered REIT that owns a portfolio of healthcare office buildings.

“The seller was considering refinancing the property,” says James I. Clark, EnTrust's managing principal, but EnTrust helped them quickly “identify the right investor to enable them to quickly monetize their investment.” The building held many attractions. First, it was finished in 2008 and has the most modern design. Second, the Centegra Health System, which runs nearby hospitals and other facilities, anchors the northwestern suburban building, occupying over 50% of the space. In addition, its ten tenants occupy 93% of the space and the weighted average remaining term of the leases is seven years.

“Tenants tend to stick around [MOBs],” Clark adds, unlike most other properties where vacancies crop up “every time a lease rolls over.” For example, “one of the partners in the building is the head of radiology in the hospital,” and therefore, highly unlikely to leave.