Taking Stock
A New Chapter Begins
Welcome to REIT: Real Estate Investment Today, our renamed and redesigned flagship ublication, which
is taking the place of Real Estate
Portfolio. The magazine’s new
name reflects its integration
with our Web site, REIT.com,
where you will find all of the
magazine’s news and features,
plus additional breaking news
and analysis; video interviews
with REIT CEOs, portfolio
managers and analysts; live
index data; and much more,
all available on a 24/7 basis.
The Real Estate Investment
Today component of our new
name reflects our commitment
to cover—in print and on
the Web—not just the REIT
industry, but the entire spectrum of commercial real estate
investment.
As we turn this page in our
publications strategy to bring
you more immediate and comprehensive coverage of commercial real estate, we also are turning the page on 2009—a year
of sharp contrasts and renewed
vitality for the REI T industry.
REIT shares fell to historic
lows in early March last year:
a plunge followed by a rise of
more than 100 percent by year-end. The dramatic resurgence
in REIT shares was driven by a
$35 billion wave of equity and
unsecured debt offerings that
demonstrated REITs’ unique
ability within the commercial
real estate marketplace to raise
capital. This access to debt and
equity capital is a fundamental
strength of REITs and provides
staying power for our companies
through peaks and troughs of
the market cycle.
Gary Landsman
REITs are entering 2010 as
stronger, better capitalized companies than they were one year
ago. At year-end 2009, the debt
ratio for the F TSE NAREIT
Equity REITs Index stood at 49
percent. That was down from 66
percent last spring.
The strength of REITs’ shares
and balance sheets, and their
continuing access to capital, has
positioned our companies well
to pursue acquisitive growth
strategies in a marketplace
where direct property values
have sunk between 30 and 40
percent below peak 2007 pric-
ing. I believe REITs are the
perfect vehicle to recapitalize
a commercial real estate sector
that suffers from excess leverage
and pending debt maturities.
In the process, our companies
will be an important part of the
solution for the broader com-
mercial real estate industry and
the financial system.
Debra Cafaro
NAREIT CHAIR
CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO
VENTAS, INC.
