Real Estate Forum - October 2009

More often than not, ancillary healthcare centers are located near or on a hospital campus, depending on whether they are affiliated with the institution. Such a relationship is convenient for physicians and patients, as well as advantageous for leasing. Coupled with location, tenant synergy is crucial in space absorption. The right tenant mix—a diagnostic facility on the same floor as an oncology center—is often conducive to business through referrals.

Take the Baylor Cancer Center in Dallas, for example. The 460,000-square-foot outpatient facility at Baylor University Medical Center is 93% preleased to Baylor Health Care System and US Oncology Inc. Being developed by Duke Realty Corp. and to be managed by BremnerDuke, the $154-million building will feature clinical and physician space, oncology research and conference facilities.

Occupancy at medical office buildings tends to remain strong despite the ebbs and flows of the economy. But recessionary forces this time around have chipped away at that strength. Vacancy has risen 130 basis points to 12% since the third quarter of 2008, according to Marcus & Millichap.

Pontius partly attributes this to a pullback in elective outpatient care, a consequence of leaner consumer budgets. “If you or I broke our arm, we would go to the orthopedist and get it handled. But there are a large number of elective procedures that we are going to defer right now because we still have deductibles to meet,” he says.

Responding to the uptick in vacancy, operators have trimmed rents 4% to $23.90 per square foot, according to Marcus & Millichap. The firm anticipates lease rates will dip 4.8% to $23.42 per square foot, while vacancy will climb to 12.3% by year’s end.

At Healthcare Trust of America Inc., formerly known as Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT, rents had been on a steady trajectory but are stagnant today, says Scott Peters, president and CEO of the Scottsdale, AZ-based company. As an owner, he says, “you’re looking to make sure tenants are motivated to stay” in their space.

Waning absorption, Peters notes, is largely borne of tenant uncertainty. “Physicians don’t necessarily know what direction our healthcare system is going. That has made them more conservative,” he says. “Where they had been in a five- or seven-year lease, they are now looking for a three-year lease.” And expansion plans, in many cases, have certainly been put on hold.

Across Healthcare Trusts’ portfolio— comprised of 135 medical office structures, four hospitals, 12 assisted living facilities and three general office buildings in 19 states—there

Baylor Cancer Center, a 460,000-square-foot outpatient facility at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, is being developed by Duke Realty Corp. and will be managed by BremnerDuke upon completion.

Introducing... HEALTHCARE TRUST OF AMERICA, INC. (formerly known as Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT, Inc.)

Maximum offering size of $2 billion, plus $200 million for the Distribution Reinvestment Plan*

To obtain a prospectus, contact:

Price $10.00 per share in Primary Offering,

$9.50 per share in Distribution Reinvestment Plan

Healthcare Trust of America, Inc. is a self-managed,

publicly registered, non-listed real estate investment

trust or REIT, that is conflict free with reduced fees.

16427 North Scottsdale Road Suite 440 Scottsdale, AZ 85254 Telephone: (480) 998-3478 Fax: (480) 991-0755 Email: info@htareit.com

www.htareit.com

We own a select real estate portfolio of medical office

buildings and healthcare facilities.

*Represents 200,000,000 shares of common stock offered at $10.00 per share and 21,052,632 shares of common stock offered at $9.50 per share under the distribution reinvestment plan.

THIS IS NEI THER AN OFFER TO SELL NOR A SOLICI TATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY THE SECURI TIES DESCRIBED HEREIN. THE OFFERING IS MADE ONLY BY THE PROSPEC TUS. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WI TH THE PROSPEC TUS IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND FULLY ALL OF THE IMPLICATIONS AND RISKS OF THE OFFERING OF SECURI TIES TO WHICH I T RELATES. A COP Y OF THE PROSPEC TUS MUST BE MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU IN CONNEC TION WITH THIS OFFERING. For more complete information about investing in shares being offered by Healthcare Trust of America, Inc. including charges and expenses, request a prospectus. Read the prospectus carefully before you make an investment decision. An investment in Healthcare Trust of America, Inc. involves a high degree of risk and there is no assurance that the investment objectives of this program will be attained. The merits of this offering have not been endorsed by any securities regulatory agency. Any representation to the contrary is unlawful. Consult the prospectus for suitability standards in your state.