Nareit's REIT Report Podcast

The innovation trend that emerged in the office sector prior to the coronavirus is only going to accelerate as organizations adapt to changes in how workplaces operate in a post-pandemic environment, according to Julie Whelan, head of occupier research for the Americas at CBRE.
Whelan told the REIT Report July 24 that innovation will be accelerated in large part by the success of the remote work model during the crisis. “The office is now becoming just one place among a network of locations where work gets done, so of course the role of it is going to accordingly change,” she said.
Prior to COVID, organizations were moving to models that were less hierarchical, less routine- driven, and more project-driven—all of which requires collaboration, Whelan said. Going forward, the conflict between the need for collaboration and increased remote working will spur innovation in terms of the tools and technology that are used every day, and how physical workspaces tie the physical and digital together to drive seamless interaction, she noted.

REITs and listed real estate are likely to see minimal impact from ongoing trade tensions, while the sector offers the potential for “outsized returns” due to solid fundamentals, according to Laurel Durkay, senior vice president and portfolio manager of global and U.S. real estate at Cohen & Steers.
Durkay was a guest on the latest edition of the Nareit REIT Report podcast.
The domestically-focused nature of real estate securities provides “relative insulation” from trade tensions versus the broader equity market, Durkay said.
“We do believe that real estate and REITs do offer a lot of very positive attributes in a time of heightened economic insecurity,” she noted.

Scott Crowe, chief investment strategist at CenterSquare Investment Management, was a guest on the latest edition of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast.
CenterSquare recently published a report, “The REIT vs. FAANG Valuation Showdown.” It notes that the current valuation of FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet’s Google) stocks roughly equate to $3 trillion of total equity value, versus $5.8 trillion for the entire U.S. institutional real estate market.
“Essentially the choice that the market is giving investors today is, would you rather own the five most popular tech stocks in America, or half of all the commercial real estate in this country?” Crowe said. While FAANG stocks are interesting and dynamic, the largest tech companies of today may not be at the top a decade from now. Real estate, however, is still going to be around to house the companies of the future, he noted.

Ric Campo, chairman and CEO of Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT), said that while April rent collections have slowed somewhat in the past week, “generally we feel pretty good about where we are” in terms of residents’ ability and willingness to pay rent.
In an April 9 REIT Report interview, Campo discussed the REIT’s efforts to help its residents weather the crisis, including the establishment of a $5 million tenant relief grant. He explained that Camden wanted to help fill the gap between when a resident might have lost a job and the receipt of federal benefits.
“Business should focus on being a real partner in the community... it’s just the right thing to do to help people when times are tough,” Campo said. He noted that there was more demand for the grant than expected, with the entire $5 million amount allocated in about 16 minutes. Checks were sent out to residents within 24 hours of their grant applications being approved, he noted.