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Jerry Barag, president and CEO of CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. (NYSE: CTT), participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITweek: 2018 Investor Conference in New York.

Bill Bayless, CEO of American Campus Communities (NYSE: ACC) participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITweek: 2018 Investor Conference in New York.

Bayless highlighted the strong global and domestic investor interest in the student housing sector. Even in the face of rising interest rates, cap rates have compressed, he noted.

“The environment out there, to be able to recycle capital and sell into the institutional demand, is as high as it’s ever been for us,” Bayless said.

Drew Alexander, president and CEO of Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE: WRI), participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITweek: 2018 Investor Conference in New York.

In the current climate of retail uncertainty, Alexander noted that Weingarten “prides itself on having the most diversified top tenant list in the space.”

The mix of properties owned by EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR) may seem a bit quirky on the surface: not many REITs invest in schools, movie theatres, Top Golf sites and ski resorts. But to EPR’s President and CEO Greg Silvers, it makes perfect sense.

“We think of it as almost ‘social infrastructure’ for people to create experiences with their friends, family and colleagues as well as places to get an education,” says Silvers.

Nareit and the NYSE hosted the 2nd Annual REIT Investor Relations Symposium on Monday, June 4, 2018 in conjunction with Nareit’s REITweek: 2018 Investor Conference. More than 100 REIT investor relations professionals were in attendance, representing 80 REITs. Attendees heard from industry experts during three panel discussions that focused on a range of topics, including: market structure and trading; corporate governance; activism; MifID II; ESG; and investor outreach.

A Dividends Through Diversity (DTD) reception took place during REITweek: 2018 Investor Conference, sponsored by Ferguson Partners. Nareit’s President and CEO Steve Wechsler kicked off the event by outlining the goals behind Nareit’s DTD initiative, which was launched at REITweek 2017. The Dividends Through Diversity initiative was created to promote the recruitment, inclusion and advancement of women in REITs and the broader commercial real estate industry.

Demand for health care services is likely to remain steady in the next decade or two as the baby boomer generation has just reached retirement age, according to health care REIT executives presenting at Nareit’s REITweek 2018: Investor Conference.

“We will have demand as people live longer today,” said Debra Cafaro, CEO of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR). Businesses in senior housing, medical office building (MOB) and life science research are currently in a bright spot, Cafaro said during the conference.

The real estate market in the United States is likely to continue to grow for the next three to five years as current policies such as tax reform benefit the industry, according to a panel at a Capital Markets Update lunchtime session during REITweek: 2018 Investor Conference. At the same time, the industry must respond to the underlying challenges created by demographic and technological change.