Interview: Healthcare market holding steady even in down economy

Midwest Real Estate News interviewed Tag Birge about the healthcare construction market.

By Source: Dan Rafter, Midwest Real Estate News April 17, 2009

Read the full Midwest Real Estate News interview.

Midwest Real Estate News: We wrote about healthcare construction three issues ago. Back then, it was outperforming all other forms of commercial construction. Is that still the case?

Tag Birge, Lauth Property Group Inc. https://www.lauth.net/, Indianapolis: In comparison to other areas, healthcare construction is much stronger. It is indeed being impeded by the credit cycle we are in, but it is still performing better than the other areas.

MWREN: How is the credit cycle impacting healthcare construction?

Birge: You are seeing a lot of hospitals nervous about capital projects right now. This is particularly true with new hospitals. This industry is resilient to the economic slowdown, but it’s certainly not immune.

MWREN: That being said, healthcare construction is still a solid performer today, right?

Birge: In comparison to other areas, this market is still very strong. If you look at the percentage of new construction going on now, if you take out government and education, we’ve never seen a larger percentage of new commercial starts being in the healthcare category.