Women Leading Healthcare Real Estate: Use Your Advantage And Prepare For Change

Women are underrepresented in the commercial real estate industry as a whole, but those who have blazed a trail in the healthcare field say they have a built-in edge.

Women in the U.S. make about 80% of healthcare decisions for their families, giving them an informed lens when leasing and designing medical space, Transwestern Senior Vice President of Healthcare Advisory Services Ashley Byrd said.

Byrd was honored as one of the Dealmakers of the Year at Bisnow’s fifth annual Houston Women Leading Real Estate event Thursday.

“I have the mom lens,” Byrd said at A Celebration of Houston’s Women in Healthcare, which brought together leaders, innovators and visionaries from medical institutions and the commercial real estate industry at the Royal Sonesta Houston Galleria.

“We can go into an asset and look at what it’s going to feel like as a patient to be coming and choosing this building or choosing this physician. That is a huge advantage,” she added. 

That sensitivity to environments also prepares women for constant, significant change, panelists said.

“Healthcare is an evolving field, so you’re never bored when you’re in healthcare,” Houston Methodist Chief Innovation Officer Roberta Levy Schwartz said. 

Just when she feels comfortable, it is time to build another building. That has happened quite a few times throughout Schwartz’s time with Houston Methodist.

“Methodist used to have five hospitals. Now we've got 190 sites,” she said. “It’s crazy. Every time I turn around, there's another Methodist … and part of it is just because we have to meet the community need that's really there.” 

Demographics are changing in Houston and the U.S. in general, given that about 70 million baby boomers will be 65 or older by 2030. To support that growing population, healthcare providers are expanding into communities and away from hospitals, Schwartz said.

There isn't enough existing support or primary care available for the wave of patients coming through Houston, and every emergency room is virtually full, she said. That's why real estate designers and developers must consider future community needs when designing healthcare facilities today.

“Many of you are building buildings that are going to be there 25 years from today,” Schwartz said.

But the real estate industry moves faster than the healthcare industry in terms of expansion. It can be challenging for brokers to lease up a medical office building in new markets that don’t yet have a lot of healthcare facilities, Byrd said.

A few years ago, it was difficult to even show potential tenants a medical office building in the Houston Heights. 

“I could not get doctors to come to the Heights. They didn't get it,” Byrd said. “They didn't see the growth. They didn't see the revitalization of that area. They didn't see what was happening in Oak Forest. They all live in West U and don't go north of I-10. And it was a really hard story to tell.” 

That building is now close to 100% leased.

“As brokers, the challenge is telling the story and letting these physicians know that, ‘Yes, you will be successful,’ and to get them comfortable with it,” Byrd said.

The career will always come with disappointments, but it is important to know how to rebound, panelists said.

Brandy Bellow Spinks leases Museo, a medical office building developed in the Museum District after the onset of the pandemic. It is now nearly 90% full.

“I had a full-building lease during Covid that was completely negotiated with attorneys, ready to sign, and it died. So I had some heartbreak with this one,” she said. “But everything happens for a reason. … We're going to have three surgery centers, we have a [catheterization] lab and very, very big-footprint practices.” 

While celebrating their deals and successes, the women already leading Houston’s healthcare real estate said it is important to reflect on how they support other women in their organizations. 

“Are you mentoring somebody that's younger than you in the business and helping them rise? I think that that's just so important,” Byrd said. “Do a good job and work hard, but also help the people that are following in your footsteps.”