LOS ANGELES—During times of economic uncertainty—or, for that matter, prosperity—diversifying your real estate investments is always a wise move. Often discussions revolve around the typical asset classes—retail, industrial, multifamily and commercial—but have you looked at medical office buildings? Healthcare real estate or "med real estate" refers to offices, buildings and campuses leased to medical providers or healthcare organizations, which are often owned and operated by unrelated third parties.

“Med real estate” transactions run the gamut from acquisitions of hospitals (including acute medical/surgical facilities and specialty hospitals such as rehab or assisted living) to development/financing/construction/leasing of MOBs or specialty medical facilities such as diagnostic imaging facilities, dialysis or plastic surgery facilities. In each case, the physician, health system or hospital can preserve cash and capital resources for their core business—providing medical services—and delegate responsibility for owning and managing real estate to those who know it best: real estate investor/developers.

Healthcare is one of the fast growing segments of our economy, so it's not surprising that healthcare related real estate transactions are also on a fast track.