Feb 13 (Reuters) - Welltower, a healthcare real estate investment trust, said on Tuesday it was acquiring a portfolio of 25 properties from a housing developer for older adults for $969 million, giving it a bigger exposure to markets in the Pacific Northwest.

The acquisition of assets from Affinity Living Communities will enable Welltower to scale the geographic reach of its housing portfolio for older adults into markets with a projected five-year population growth in people over the age of 55 that is more than 2.5 times higher than the U.S. average, the REIT said.

The REIT owns housing and healthcare properties with a focus on older adults and assisted living.

The company expects its 2024 funds from operations (FFO), a key performance measure for REITs, to be in the range of $3.94 per share to $4.10 per share. Welltower reported a full-year FFO of $3.64 per share in 2023.

The Ohio-based company posted a normalized FFO of 96 cents per share in the fourth quarter, compared with analysts' estimate of 94 cents per share, according to LSEG data. (Reporting by Puyaan Singh and Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)