Salient to Investors: Mortgage REITs yield 13 percent versus 3.8 percent for T-Bonds. In 2013 mortgage REITs lost 3 percent on average even after factoring in double-digit dividend yields – versus 30 percent for the S&P 500. Michael Widner at KBW Bank said the average mortgage REIT trades at a
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The Bloomberg mall REIT index has fallen 5.4 percent in 2013, the worst performing part of US property stocks, on sluggish retail sales and limited opportunities to expand, after posting the biggest increases from 2009 through 2012. Hoteliers and self-storage landlords are the top-performing REIT sectors in 2013.
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Investors are cooling on the fledgling US homes-for-rent industry. IPO American Homes 4 Rent was little changed in its first day of trading after raising almost 44 percent less than estimated in its initial prospectus in June and at the low-end of the offering range. The two other REITs that have
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Baby boomers are retiring at the worst time in a generation or more, as bond yields and stock dividends have tumbled to 2 percent, and the cohort never saved like their parents and grandparents. Pension plans have largely disappeared from the private sector, home values are the
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Hamilton “Tony” James of Blackstone Group said stocks were a fool’s game compared with alternative investments. and investing in alternatives makes sense even when they underperform. James said the return from these idiosyncratic investments are very uncorrelated to the broader markets, so portfolio volatility falls. Hedge funds have been
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Property purchases by U.S. REITs are likely to be curtailed as a tumble in share prices makes a key source of capital costlier. Jim Sullivan at Green Street Advisors said for most property types, we have hit the pause button and expect REIT executives to be very careful with respect
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Jason Stewart, an analyst at Compass Point Research & Trading Interest rates moving higher and Fed talk about tapering QE much earlier than the market thought have sent mortgage REITs lower. Michael Widner at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said the bond markets have over-reacted to Fed comments,
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Soichiro Monji at Daiwa SB Investments said selling is feeding into more selling on underlying concern about the Fed’s early exit. Angus Gluskie at White Funds Management said it is difficult for the market to keep rallying as further moves from Japanese equities need to be fundamentally driven. Ng Soo Nam
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: The growth of Internet shopping in Europe is luring investors to warehouses, where yields are beating showy storefronts and sleek offices amid a space shortage. Jones Lang LaSalle say Europe needs 296 million square feet of new distribution and storage warehouses in the next 5 years, 11 percent of
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Congress is debating the biggest rewrite of US partnership rules in 60 years, which may increase taxes for real estate and finance businesses or prompt them to restructure operations to avoid new costs. The Camp proposal would change the rules for businesses such as partnerships that don’t
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