A look at the year ahead for healthcare will significantly impact the industry’s commercial real estate, says CBRE Research. Specifically, an aging population, growing healthcare spending, transformative technologies, and consumer preferences will make medical outpatient buildings (MOB) an increasingly popular choice for care delivery.

This new MOB is stepping in where an older use of the acronym, medical office building, which had been a regular part of the landscape has been taking some hits in 2024. In the first half of the year, Cushman & Wakefield's short take was that volume and pricing remained muted, although there was continued resiliency in the category.

Meanwhile, in May, CBRE noted that investment in medical office buildings overall stumbled in the first quarter of 2024, falling by 21% quarter-over-quarter to $1.6 billion, which was down 7% year over year. That meant the MOB investment volume fell by 48% compared to the 2019-to-2023 period. High interest rates with accompanying major rate cap costs and inflation limited medical office investment activity.