Medical is in

Medical office buildings have become the darlings of specialized real estate investment trusts, private equity groups and individual investors — especially in Florida — because they tend to provide stable, long-term income streams with credit-worthy tenants.

“It's a very hot sector for alternative real estate investment,” says Jim Costello, a senior vice president of Real Capital Analytics, a real estate data and research firm. “Prices are continuing to go up. In the first quarter of this year versus 2014, sales activity is up 135%.”

In Florida, Tampa-based Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT Inc.'s $117 million purchase of a portfolio of nearly two dozen medical buildings in five states in late April illustrates the national trend.