“In the last few years, the large systems have been more aggressive,” he says, in launching the development of off-campus ambulatory centers. And at the conference, many attendees were predicting that the amount of this new construction would increase over the next year and even beyond.

Historically, this sector mostly involved the development of medical office buildings. Today, however, “specialty centers are coming more into the mainstream of health care real estate.”

There was also a lot of talk about monetization. New government regulations, the aging of the population, and the proliferation of more advanced medical devices means providers need more capital, and selling their properties to systems hungry for market share can be a great way to get it.

The market for such health care properties has “been hot and cold over the past ten years,” Wilson says. But in the near future, “you may see some of the larger players in the market reconsider monetization.”

Overall, most conference attendees seemed to believe that the steady growth of new construction seen in the past few years will continue. Wilson agrees. “I think you will see more product starts in 2016 than you did in 2015.”

CHICAGO—In the past few years, BOMA International's annual Medical Office Buildings and Health Care Real Estate Conference has attracted a growing number of people, partly due to the introduction of Obamacare, which has increased the demand for new medical facilities. John Wilson, president of Chicago-based HSA Primecare, the health care arm of Chicago-based HSA Commercial, attended this year's conference in Orlando from May 3 to May 5, and tells GlobeSt.com that doing so allowed him to take the pulse of the industry.

“The vast majority of those in this sector of real estate look to BOMA,” he says. “People are intrigued by this asset class, and if you're going to go to one conference, this is the one to go to.”

Much of the talk at the conference revolved around how the new law requires health care providers to both improve care and reduce expenses. And that has meant many mergers and acquisitions as providers sought to take advantage of the economies of scale.

“This movement has been many years in the making,” Wilson adds, and the merger process is well-advanced. Although that has meant some facilities needed to close to avoid any overlaps in care, it has also opened up a lot of opportunities for real estate developers. The enlarged providers still need to move away from the old, expensive model of centralized health services, and build new, advanced facilities that bring specialized care closer to the populations they now serve.

“In the last few years, the large systems have been more aggressive,” he says, in launching the development of off-campus ambulatory centers. And at the conference, many attendees were predicting that the amount of this new construction would increase over the next year and even beyond.

Historically, this sector mostly involved the development of medical office buildings. Today, however, “specialty centers are coming more into the mainstream of health care real estate.”

There was also a lot of talk about monetization. New government regulations, the aging of the population, and the proliferation of more advanced medical devices means providers need more capital, and selling their properties to systems hungry for market share can be a great way to get it.

The market for such health care properties has “been hot and cold over the past ten years,” Wilson says. But in the near future, “you may see some of the larger players in the market reconsider monetization.”

Overall, most conference attendees seemed to believe that the steady growth of new construction seen in the past few years will continue. Wilson agrees. “I think you will see more product starts in 2016 than you did in 2015.”