REIT's have been on a tear in the past year and apartment REIT’s have been doing particularly well. NAREIT finds that apartment REITs had a return of 47% compared to 15.06% for the S&P 500[i]. Actually I found even the S&P returns to be better than I expected as we headed into 2010. I still don’t believe in a lot of public earnings but then again, I am a real estate analyst rather than a securities analyst. The REIT returns have been even more shocking. Why is the apartment sector faring better... read more

Costar has published a fascinating discussion of distressed real estate trends and distressed debt. Ron Opfer discusses Las Vegas below in this direct quote from the Costar Article. The Craig Promenade deal is typical of what Las Vegas insiders are seeing these days. "There have been three 90,000-square-foot plus retail centers, (one was retail/office), close in the last 90 days. None of them are grocery anchored, and, most of them have been plagued with leasing trouble," said Ron Opfer, director o... read more