http://www.reit.com Foreign investors view the U.S. as a more favorable place to invest today than it has been in the past five years, according to Jim Fetgatter, chief executive of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE).

In a video interview with REIT.com at the NAREIT headquarters in Washington, D.C., Fetgatter shared some of the results of the association’s 20th Annual Foreign Investment Survey.

He said that the U.S., which at one point had always scored highly in the annual survey as a stable, secure place to invest, has suffered from a decreasing score in recent years.

“That score has been gong down significantly in the past five years,” Fetgatter says. “For some reason this year it went back up. Perhaps it’s in comparison to other parts of the world but nevertheless they view it as being more stable and secure.”

Additionally Fetgatter said that investors also perceive the U.S. as a place for less possibility of capital appreciation. He said the perception is that all of the appreciation has gone out of the capital markets that they want to invest in.

When it comes to countries that investors view as some of the more favorable emerging markets, Brazil was the most popular survey response, according to Fetgatter.

“That was a surprise to us all,” he said, adding that investors are also still favorable on China.

“There were more countries listed in their responses this year than there has been in the last several years. They’ve been very conservative in which emerging markets they’re thinking about going into,” he said.

In terms of U.S. investments however, Fetgatter said the survey results still primarily favored the major gateway cities such as Washington, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston.

“They have not really spread out to any other city, at least as not as far as office and retail are concerned. Some are investing in secondary cities if they can buy a portfolio of multifamily housing,” Fetgatter said.

By Carisa Chappell

Duration : 0:3:9

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http://www.reit.com Many REITs were able to acquire assets in desirable markets in 2011, according to Haendel St. Juste, equity research analyst with KBW.

In a video interview with REIT.com at REITWorld 2011: NAREIT’s Annual Convention For All Things REIT in Dallas at the Hilton Anatole hotel, St. Juste pointed out that the acquisition pace is playing out as expected.

He said that banks were putting more assets on the market as over levered borrowers were “facing the music.”

“The REITs were able to take advantage of their cost and access to capital to really be able to pursue and acquire some well located assets at, more often than not, very reasonable prices,” St. Juste said.

Today, the cap rates are in the high fours and low fives for a high quality asset in one of the core coastal markets, according to St. Juste. He added that there’s a good chance for REITs to create value with those acquisitions, especially with good NOI growth over the next couple of years.

In terms of how 2011 has fared, St. Juste said most REITs took a conservative approach amid the uncertain economic outlook.

“We weren’t seeing much job growth and I think most tended to default to a more conservative baseline projection for their year,” St. Juste said.

However, he added that there were a few surprises in the apartment sector because landlords were able to increase rents, without material job growth.

“Despite what you read in the news, apartment fundamentals are strong and you have a number of confluence factors driving that,” he said.

In addition to a decline in home ownership rates, St. Juste said that the apartment sector is benefiting from a reduction in supply because of the construction freeze during the downturn.

He said that factor, coupled with a modest job growth among the rental age population of 25-34 year olds, places the apartment sector in a good space.

“These companies are professionally managed, have strong balance sheets and there is prospect for dividend growth across many of the sectors, especially in apartments,” St. Juste said.

By Matt Bechard

Duration : 0:3:28

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http://www.reit.com Mark Zalatoris, president and chief executive officer of Inland Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: IRC), said the company’s occupancy levels have improved as new tenants have entered key markets in Chicago and Minneapolis.

Speaking with REIT.com during REITWorld 2011: NAREIT’s Annual Convention for All Things REIT in Dallas last month, Zalatoris said those new tenants include Ross Dress for Less, Gordmans and H.H. Gregg.

“We have been very fortunate in that we have been the beneficiary of their market expansions,” Zalatoris said. In addition, he said, “some of our tenants are doing some right-sizing and we have been able to offer them the right type and size of space and drawn them from competing centers.”

Inland has capital available to pursue strategic acquisitions, including funds from Dutch pension fund PGGM. Zalatoris said the two are targeting necessity-based shopping centers in the upper Midwest.

Looking to 2012, Zalatoris said what has him most optimistic is that there is capital available (particularly from inland’s partners including PGGM) and there are quality acquisitions to target.

“We are also working with some of our developers we have done business with in the past on off-market deals,” he said.

Zalatoris said he expects to see the company continue to have a robust pipeline of new acquisitions going into 2012. “The fact that the retailers feel very optimistic about the future and are continuing to express a desire to expand should continue in 2012 as well,” he said.

On the flip side, Zalatoris said macroeconomic issues continue to be a concern throughout the real estate industry and country as a whole.

“There is concern European contagion could possibly spread back to the United States. Consumer sentiment is what could impact our retailers in a negative way. And if it does turn negative there expansion plans may be scaled back and that would trickle down and affect us,” he said.

By Matt Bechard

Duration : 0:3:49

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http://www.reit.com Retail REIT DDR Corp. (NYSE: DDR) has had an active year on the acquisitions front, and that should continue into 2012, according to Daniel Hurwitz, DDR’s president and CEO.

In a video interview with REIT.com at REITWorld 2011: NAREIT’s Annual Convention For All Things REIT in Dallas at the Hilton Anatole hotel, Hurwitz previewed where his company is headed in the coming year. Hurwitz said he is expecting DDR’s acquisition and disposition of assets to hold up in the coming year, although he noted that the company doesn’t have any plans for major consolidation efforts.

“There are many opporunities within our sector where we can get prime assets,” Hurwitz said. He said DDR’s operating platform gives the company an opportunity to add value to such assets.

Hurwitz said DDR plans to continue to sell a specific class of assets in its portfolio. “I think there’s a market out there for our non-prime portfolio,” he said.

Looking ahead, DDR plans to continue its strategy of partnering with premier retailers to fill its properties, according to Hurwitz. Those primarily consist of large publicly traded companies, which Hurwitz said is a benefit to his company.

“The great thing about our business is that you don’t have to guess who that is,” said Hurwitz. “Most of our retailers are large public companies. They report their sales. We know where the market share is going every month, if not every quarter.”

On the financial side of the house, Hurwitz emphasized the need for DDR to be prepared for any troublesome developments in the capital markets.

“Financially, we just have to make sure that we are anticipating what could be coming down the road and being conservative in our view to what our capital structure should look like,” he said.

By Matt Bechard

Duration : 0:3:48

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http://www.reit.com Kimco Realty Corp.’s (NYSE: KIM) decision to go public in 1991 kicked off what is now considered the Modern REIT Era. Twenty years later, Kimco President and CEO David Henry says the company’s initial public offering (IPO) changed the face of commercial real estate investment.

In a video interview with REIT.com at REITWorld 2011: NAREIT’s Annual Convention For All Things REIT in Dallas at the Hilton Anatole hotel, Henry reflected on the development of the REIT industry in the last two decades. Today, equity REITs have become a widely accepted way to invest in commercial real estate, according to Henry, whereas that might not have been the case prior to Kimco’s IPO.

“Before Kimco became public in 1991, REITs were primarily mortgage REITs with somewhat of a jaded history,” Henry said. “It was really the beginning of a 20-year trend of the growth and the acceptance of equity REITs.”

The attending benefits of the REIT approach to commercial real estate investment have been significant, Henry said. They include liquidity, transparency and a consistent dividend. Henry also noted that REITs’ restrained use of leverage offers investors stability.

“We like to emphasize the balance sheets of REITs are quite strong,” he said. “We’re talking about leverage levels less than 50 percent, so it’s a safe, strong, reliable means to invest in real estate.”

Henry said the man who took Kimco public, chairman Milton Cooper, instilled a culture of “being a good partner” within the company.

“He treats everyone with dignity and respect, and he’s genuinely interested in people,” Henry said. “Treat others the same way you would have them treat you.”

Looking ahead to the next 20 years, Henry said he expects the company’s growth to come from international markets. Kimco already has a presence in Mexico, Canada and South America. He also said the company will continue its investment management program on behalf of major institutional investors, such as pension funds.

Lastly, Henry said Kimco will continue to make “opportunistic” investments.

“Kimco has a 50-year history of being opportunistic,” he said. “We will continue to make opportunistic investment bets with retailers.”

By Matt Bechard

Duration : 0:3:36

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