CHICAGO—Profound changes, both demographic and political, are hitting the healthcare sector, and as providers respond by using more small retail-style outlets to serve patients, investors in net lease product have started to see opportunities.

"There is a reason that the median cap rate for the net lease medical sector is 15 bps below the rest of the market," Randy Blankstein, president of the Boulder Group, a net lease investment brokerage firm located in suburban Chicago, tells GlobeSt.com. The company just published a study on the sector and found that the median asking cap rate declined from 6.72% one year ago to 6.5% in the third quarter. The overall rate for the net lease retail market stood at 6.65 %. "Buyers are looking for growing sectors with growing business models," and few sectors can count on growth more than health care.

"The days of going to the big hospital or medical office building to get treatment are certainly not over," Blankstein adds, but relatively small retail outlets where doctors and other medical professionals provide specialized care are popping up everywhere. Patients that need dialysis treatment, for example, are more liable these days to visit and ex-Borders bookstore that has been transformed into a health care facility.

"Demographic change is the main driver," he says. According to the US Census Bureau, seniors over the age of 65 made up 13.4% of the population in 2012. However, this same age group will increase to 22.1% by 2050. Seniors aged 65 to 74 and 75+ average 6.2 and 7.2 doctor visits per year, respectively, according to the US Center for Disease Control, and developing retail-style outlets will bring services much closer to this population. The overall average across all age spectrums is 3.3 visits annually. And the implementation of Obamacare has brought a measure of stability to the market. "Whether people like it or not everyone now understands the policy framework going forward."

In addition to the positive outlook for the healthcare sector, most medical-related leases feature rental escalations and credit tenant lease guarantees. These highly sought after characteristics also help set medical retail apart from many other properties on the net lease market.

The median price for net lease medical properties in the third quarter was about $2.5 million, putting most within reach of the average 1031 buyers who traditionally purchase net retail assets. And as these properties proliferate, it gives buyers an opportunity to diversify their portfolios. "Everyone is already pretty heavily into dollar stores, drug stores and auto parts stores," Blankstein says.