Pleasant views from the Global Real Estate conference

A ready-mix of positives for real estate

Last month, BofA hosted its annual Global Real Estate conference with record client attendance. Jeff Spector suggests that while investors have been underweight real estate the last couple of years as rates rose, recent outperformance is beginning to draw investors into the group. The fall in rates make REIT yields look more attractive, all else equal, and also come with a number of fundamental positives which we discuss within. REIT executives at the conference see the market for real estate transactions picking up, historically a positive for REIT valuations. And office, aside from being a particular beneficiary of rate cuts, received some positive commentary from real estate executives. Return to office mandates are leading to improvement in certain key US markets including Midtown Manhattan, which is presently one of the strongest office markets in the country. Also, high rates and pessimism on the part of developers in areas including office and retail has meant supply is muted.

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