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The commercial real estate industry has experienced a fundamental shift in recent years as more women than ever are pursuing career paths within the field that have the potential to lead to a seat in the boardroom.
REITs showed renewed vigor in April as the FTSE NAREIT All REIT Index posted total returns of 2.9 percent and outpaced the 0.7 percent return for the S&P 500 Index. April’s advances were an improvement on the 0.3 percent return that REITs had in March.
REIT advances in April followed a solid showing in the first quarter of 2014, when gains for the FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index stood at 8.6 percent.
Public, non-listed REITs (PNLR) would realize additional long-term growth from proposed regulations that would increase their disclosures of fees and commissions paid to brokers, according to real estate industry practitioners.
Evan Urbania, CEO of ChatterBlast Media, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2014: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Boca Raton, Fla.
Urbania’s company advises clients on how to best utilize social media. He was asked for his assessment of REITs’ incorporation of social media platforms.
Kate Mason, senior vice president for taxation at Post Properties Inc. (NYSE: PPS), joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2014: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Boca Raton, Fla.
Post Properties is a developer and operator of upscale multifamily apartment communities.
Mason was asked to comment on the issues that are most worrisome to REIT tax directors at this time.
As share buybacks are becoming more appealing for equity REITs, ratings firm Fitch Ratings is warning that they pose risks to the companies’ credit ratings.
Despite outperforming the broader market in the first quarter, shares of equity REITs in general continue to trade below net asset value (NAV), making share buybacks “an intriguing use of capital,” according to a report released by Fitch on April 29. As of the end of 2013, REITs traded at a 7.2 percent discount to NAV. In the previous year, pricing was essentially in line with NAV, according to Fitch.
Luke Zubrod, director of risk and regulatory advisory services with Chatham Financial, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2014: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Boca Raton, Fla.
Zubrod was asked about the dialogue surrounding the appropriate level of leverage for REITs and the stakes related to the decisions that REITs make regarding their interest rate exposure.
Mark Borges, principal at Compensia, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2014: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Boca Raton, Fla.
Borges commented on the steps a REIT should take to win a say-on-pay vote.
“I think it’s important to plan ahead. In the past, you could simply file your proxy statement and attend your annual meeting and see what happened, but today you have to treat it more like a campaign,” Borges said.
Andy Richard, managing director of the Real Estate Group at Credit Suisse, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2014: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Boca Raton, Fla.
Richard was asked about the state of REIT capital markets and the prospects they face going forward.
“On the equity side, stocks are trading at very healthy levels. It’s a very seasoned asset class with a broad range of investors who are interested,” Richard said. On the debt side, he added, “I have never seen the debt markets healthier than they are now.”
Starwood Capital Group Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht is expressing confidence that the single-family rental housing sector has the potential to become a major REIT asset class, but he acknowledges that investors remain skeptical.
Sternlicht, chairman of single-family home REIT Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust (NYSE: SWAY), spoke on April 23 at the Real Estate Luminaries Series at Georgetown University. He discussed the company’s foray into a new segment of the REIT market.