REIT Rankings Best Real Estate Investment Trust Rankings – REIT Rankings
Phil Hawkins, CEO of DCT Industrial Trust Inc. (NYSE: DCT), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview during REITWeek 2015: NAREIT’s Investor Forum, held in New York.
DCT specializes in the acquisition, development, leasing and management of bulk distribution and light industrial properties located in high-volume markets in the United States. Hawkins discussed the state of development activity at the company.
Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD) said April 19 it has agreed to buy industrial property owner KTR Capital Partners through a joint venture for a total of $ 5.9 billion.
The properties will be acquired by Prologis U.S. Logistics Venture (USLV), a consolidated joint venture with Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the manager of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global. Prologis holds a 55 percent stake in the joint venture.
Demand for industrial space is expected to remain healthy for the rest of 2015, supported by solid economic fundamentals, rising consumer demand and the continued expansion of e-commerce, according to market watchers.
A report from the NAIOP Research Foundation forecasts net demand for industrial space could grow 8 percent in 2015, up from 224 million square feet in 2014.
Gordon DuGan, CEO of Gramercy Property Trust (NYSE: GPT), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview at REITWorld 2014: NAREIT’s Annual Convention for All Things REIT at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.
Gramercy has made acquisitions in both the office and industrial sectors in 2014. DuGan said both sectors are healthy thanks in part to a dearth of new construction. The company is finding “terrific” assets on the market in the range of $ 5 million to $ 30 million.
As the global economy continues to regain its footing, the industrial REITs that are so vital to the flow of commerce are seeing some positive tailwinds in their favor. In particular, the emergence of a middle class in China and Brazil and the rise of e-commerce in Europe and Japan are creating an environment for success for industrial REITs with a global presence. Industrial REITs are also benefitting from the demand for facilities that can meet growing demand for quick—even same-day—retail deliveries to consumers.
Bill Hankowsky, chairman, president and CEO of Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LPT), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview during REITWeek 2014: NAREIT’s Investor Forum, held in New York.
Phil Hawkins, CEO of DCT Industrial Trust (NYSE: DCT), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview during REITWeek 2014: NAREIT’s Investor Forum, held in New York.
Hawkins said the company’s prospects for growth are helped by being at a “great time” in the market cycle. DCT Industrial hopes to push up both rents and occupancy rates to boost internal growth, according to Hawkins.
Eric Frankel, analyst at Green Street Advisors, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWeek 2014: NAREIT’s Investor Forum, held in New York.
Frankel discussed developments in the industrial REIT sector during the first half of the year. Industrial fundamentals have been good for the past few years, said Frankel, noting that the recovery in the industrial sector started relatively slowly when the economy first began to improve about four years ago.
“It’s been pretty smooth sailing,” he observed.
Ben Butcher, chairman, president and CEO of STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE: STAG), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview during REITWeek 2014: NAREIT’s Investor Forum, held in New York.
Butcher discussed his company’s acquisition activity, which picked up in April after a slow start to the year.
“We pride ourselves on our agnosticity with regard to assets. We’re really looking for assets that produce great cash flows and we are willing to go to anywhere in the secondary and primary markets in the U.S. where we find those,” Butcher explained.
Hans Nordby, chief economist with CoStar, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2014: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Boca Raton, Fla.
Nordby was asked for his thoughts on sectors within the REIT industry that he expects to outperform. Of the “four major food groups” in the REIT market, Nordby singled out the industrial sector as the one that looks most promising in the near term.
