By Connor Watson, senior vice president, Partners Real Estate For years, the investment narrative around medical office as an asset class has been simple: stable demand, recession-resistant tenants and steady growth driven by the shift to outpatient care. That narrative is still true, but it’s incomplete. What’s shaping the next phase of healthcare real estate isn’t just demand. It’s a growing imbalance on the supply side. And in markets like Texas, that imbalance is becoming even more pronounced. Demand Isn’t the Story Anymore As a trend in healthcare real estate, outpatient migration is well understood at this point. Procedures continue to take place outside of traditional hospitals and within lower-cost settings like medical office buildings and ambulatory surgery centers. In Texas, that demand is amplified due to the following reasons: These economic and demographic trends have resulted in consistent tenant demand, high occupancy across most major markets and strong rates of retention from healthcare providers. But demand alone doesn’t create outsized opportunities; constraints do. The Real Shift: Supply Is Slowing Down New medical office development has quietly pulled back over the past several years. Not because demand isn’t there, but because the economics have changed. That shift is especially visible …
