‘everything We’re Buying Is Shop’: American Healthcare Reit Eyes $650m Pipeline 

American Healthcare REIT (NYSE: AHR) is committed to building out its senior housing operating portfolio (SHOP) with a $650 million pipeline.

In the first quarter of 2026, the Irvine, California-based real estate investment trust acquired a total of seven assets. Included in that total were five new senior housing assets for $117.5 million in California and Missouri, which will be operated by two existing regional partners, and two in Kansas for $45.3 million.

American Healthcare REIT has 325 campuses and properties in its portfolio, 149 of which are classified as “integrated senior health campuses” and 87 SHOP properties. The remaining investments are either outpatient medical or triple-net leased properties.

American Healthcare REIT is continuing to shrink its outpatient medical footprint. The REIT hasn’t “underwritten an outpatient medical building in years,” and it has sold over one-third of the segment due to being a slower growing asset, said CFO Brian Peay.

“We loved having outpatient medical buildings during the pandemic. The occupancy in that segment was higher at the end of 2021 than it was at the beginning of 2021,” Peay said. “As of now and today, we’re committed to the diversified strategy of healthcare investments. I would say … everything we’re buying is SHOP.”

American Healthcare REIT also has notched a 31.6% increase in funds from operations year-over-year to 50 cents per share from 38 cents per share, with the senior housing operating portfolio bringing in $14.6 million in same-store net operating income, a 19.7% increase compared to the first quarter of 2025.

The majority of the REIT’s $650 million pipeline is expected to close by the end of the second quarter, according to Peay, which consists of a combination of value-add and stabilized assets despite the increased amount of competition of capital coming into the senior living sector.

“We’ve been able to still find deals that make a whole lot of sense for us, and there are a lot of other deals out there that we continue to look at,” he said.

While largely focused on acquisitions, American Healthcare REIT is beginning to look at development possibilities as a way to expand the relationships it has with existing operators to expand footprints in their markets. The hold up, according to Chief Operating Officer Gabe Willhite is that acquisitions are still below replacement costs and demographic trends continue to push occupancy higher across the portfolio, which has an average occupancy of 88.6%.

“When do you really want to start developing to meet that opportunity when you have all these other opportunities in front of you that are below replacement costs? It is hard to say yes to that,” Willhite said.

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