TOLEDO, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 2005--Health Care REIT, Inc. (NYSE:HCN) announced today that it completed $125.9 million of gross investments during the fourth quarter of 2004, resulting in total gross investments for the full year of $584.9 million.

The investment activity during the quarter consisted of approximately 99 percent real property investments and one percent loans. Investments in new facilities for the quarter included the acquisition of one assisted living facility with 110 units for $18.1 million and 18 skilled nursing facilities with 2,318 beds for $100.1 million, representing $118.2 million of the investment activity for the quarter. During the quarter, the company had asset sales and loan payoffs of $27.7 million including two assisted living facilities, two skilled nursing facilities and subdebt investments relating to two operators. Net new investments for the quarter totaled $98.2 million.

The year ended December 31, 2004 was the third consecutive year of record investments. The company completed gross investments of $584.9 million, offset by $62.6 million of asset sales and loan payoffs, which generated a total of $522.3 million of net new investments.

The company also confirmed that it will release its 2004 fourth quarter and year end earnings results after the market closes on January 31, 2005. A conference call is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on February 1, 2005 to discuss these results. The information to be discussed on the call will be contained in the company's earnings release, which will be available on the press releases page of the company's Web site at www.hcreit.com.

The conference call will be accessible by telephone and through the Internet. Telephone access will be available by dialing 913-981-5592 or 888-202-2422. Callers to this number will be able to listen to the company's business update. For those unable to listen to the call live, a taped rebroadcast will be available beginning two hours after completion of the live call on February 1, 2005 through February 8, 2005. To access the rebroadcast, dial 719-457-0820 or 888-203-1112. The conference ID number is 365408. To participate on the webcast, log on to www.hcreit.com or www.fulldisclosure.com 15 minutes before the call to download the necessary software. A replay will be available on these Web sites for 90 days.

Health Care REIT, Inc., with headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, is a real estate investment trust that invests in health care facilities, primarily skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. At December 31, 2004, the company had investments in 394 health care facilities in 35 states with 50 operators. The portfolio included 234 assisted living facilities, 152 skilled nursing facilities and eight specialty care hospitals. More information is available on the Internet at www.hcreit.com.

CONTACT: Health Care REIT, Inc.
Ray Braun, 419-247-2800
Mike Crabtree, 419-247-2800
Scott Estes, 419-247-2800

SOURCE: Health Care REIT, Inc.