What I heard from global leaders at REITWorld sponsored by W. P. Carey

Top executives from the leading American REITs were front and center in presentations to the investors, analysts and the financial press at the REITWorld 2011 event in Dallas.

CREOpoint and W. P. Carey are bringing you the buzz from the 3-day action since many friends could not travel to it. If you were among the 1,200 there, you may see something you may have missed. If you could not travel to Texas, this is the next best thing to being there. I recently got back from the SIMI Paris conference so I had a chance to give some thought to what I heard at REITWorld and put it in context. Discussions focused on accomplishments over the last 20 years, what changed in the last couple years and the outlook for 2012, including more investor outreach and monitoring Washington issues. If you were at REITWorld, you may see something you may have missed. If you could not travel to TX, this is the next best thing to being there:

I had a chance to hear from Mary Hogan Preusse (Co-Head Americas Real Estate APG Asset Management), Bill Hankowsky (CEO Liberty Property Trust), Dave Henry (CEO Kimco Realty), David LaRue (President and CEO Forest City Enterprise, Inc.), Ed Walter (President and CEO Host Hotels & Resorts), Keith Pauley (CIO Lasalle Investment Management), and Trevor Bond (President and CEO, W. P. Carey & Co.). If you are interested in what some of them said, scroll down. Thanks again to W. P. Carey for being the exclusive Platinum Sponsor of this newsletter.

Dave Henry (CEO Kimco Realty): "Before Kimco became public in 1991, REITs were primarily mortgage REITs with somewhat of a jaded history. Our IPO was really the beginning of a 20-year trend of the growth and the acceptance of equity REITs. We like to emphasize the balance sheets of REITs are quite strong. We’re talking about leverage levels less than 50 percent, so it’s a safe, strong, reliable way to invest in real estate”

Keith Pauley, CIO Lasalle Investment Management: "The most leveraged REITs went down 90%, the least leveraged only 40%"

Trevor Bond, President and Chief Executive Officer of W. P. Carey & Co. LLC said in a NAREIT video (I click here to watch it now): "W. P. Carey is invested in about 28 industries at any given time. So naturally, as you get ups and downs in the economy, those risks will be buffeted by the spreading out of those risks. However, one of our primary benefits comes in the form of having long term leases since they take the risk out of the short term swing of its investment. With any given dislocation, such as the one we’re currently in, if you have a five to seven year down cycle and we’re signing leases that are 15 to 20 years, we feel comfortable that if we’ve done our homework and evaluated that particular tenant and credit appropriately, as long as they can continue to pay rent we can deliver income to our investors. The best investment opportunity is in the triple B credits or below. They may be very good companies that experienced difficulty accessing the credit markets at a particular time."

In addition to clicking on the W. P. Carey logo above to get more information, you could also read their announcement of Third Quarter Financial Results

The outlook

David LaRue, President and CEO Forest City Enterprise Inc.: “Significant amounts of commercial real estate debt are coming due beginning in 2012 and growing through 2016. The maturities coincide with commercial mortgage-backed securities pools that were formed during “the heavy finance area that has led to some of the problems we have now. However, quality assets should find plenty of financing options”

Ed Walter, President and CEO Host Hotels & Resorts: “Business investment is projected to increase, which is particularly important to the lodging sector. All of those things bode well for a recovery in 2012"

Mary Hogan Preusse (Co-Head Americas Real Estate APG Asset Management): "Health care REITs are one area of the economy, where people have to agree, is definitely going to be expanding. Still access to capital will be a challenge. That's going to be something that affects REITs, and we'll start to hear about the 'haves vs. the have nots' again in terms of access to capital”

Bill Hankowsky (CEO Liberty Property Trust): "We currently have 10 buildings in construction and also want to lower energy consumption across the entire portfolio. We put in place a building-wide area network to monitor real time electric utilization at a central point for 13 separate assets. We’re looking at everything out there and how we might test it and use it to apply new technology”

CREOpoint recently released the first study about the online buzz of New York REITs

Social unrest, social media and our industry…

"The wave of civil unrest that has swept the globe in 2011 has prompted many government agencies to step up their monitoring of Twitter and other social networks. These actions confirm the widening power of social media as an accelerator of social and business change. Commercial property industry leaders leaders increasingly recognized that social media is having an impact on positive imaging if used effectively, or can amplify negative buzz about their brands and reputations. Many asked us to start monitoring what’s being said about them and help engage online movers and shakers. As risk/reputation management and investor relations grow in importance, we also expect many other REITs, developers and publicly held real estate service providers to be much more proactive in managing their social media presence in 2012.

In Q4, our proprietary CREObuzz™ algorithm identified 4 times more articles about Brookfield Office Properties than SL Green or Vornado. The most buzz corresponded to the removal of “Occupy Wall Street” protesters from Zuccotti Park, a space controlled by Brookfield. The next 12 months will mark the turning point in how the players in our industry take much more deliberate steps to manage their brands within social media channels. CREOpoint will continue to lead the way with powerful social media and risk management dashboards to help manage in this new and challenging environment." JC Goldenstein, CREOpoint CEO

Reprinted with permission from CREOpoint partner Commercial Property Executive

Benefit from increasing online discussions before, during and after events

Overall in 2011 the number of show participants at commercial real estate events continued to decrease but the buzz about they created dramatically increased across all online media. This prompts a marketer to ask, “What are these brands doing to create the buzz?”

Increasingly, online discussions are occurring before, during and after these great events and brands are joining the conversation at a minimum to be found in prospect’s Google searches. The companies that achieved the most online visibility and word of mouth did so with a plan of action and the determination and resources to make it happen. That was no accident. They followed a very deliberate strategy that built on the strength of their people, organization and key influencers. Those who are not on the list—and those who will lead in the future—require direction and focus.

It would be good for us to also be more involved with these global newsletters

You could also get global exposure by contacting Geoff Madden now at GMadden@CREOpoint.com if you'd like to explore a sponsorship of our exclusive events or global e-newsletters. CREOpoint will be well represented at conferences organized by NMHC (Jan. 17-19 in Boca Raton and Mar. 28-29 in Chicago), ULI Europe (Jan. 31-Feb.1 in Paris), MBA (Feb 6-8 in Atlanta), AFIRE (Feb. 15-16 in NY), MIPIM (March 6-9 in Cannes, including the CREOpoint & Wall Street Journal VIP Party), NAREIM (Mar. 18-20 in Miami), IFMA (Apr 11-13 in Chicago and Oct. 31-Nov. 2 in San Antonio), NAIOP (Apr. 24-26 in Miami and May 16-17 in Philadelphia), PERE (Apr. 24-25 in L.A., Jun. 13-14 in London and Nov. 8-9 in NY), CoreNet (Apr. 29-May 1 in San Diego), SIOR (May 10-12 in Miami and Oct. 25-27 in LA), ICSC (May 20-23 in Las Vegas), NAREIT (June 12-14 in NY and Nov. 13-15 in San Diego), Realcomm (Jun 13-15 in Las Vegas), BOMA (June 24-26 in Seattle), RICS (Sep. 11-13 in Las Vegas), ULI (Oct. 16-19 in Denver), Expo Real (Oct. 8-10 Munich), CREW (Oct. 24-27 Chicago), USGBC (Nov. 13-16 in San Francisco), MIPIM Asia (Nov. in Hong Kong), MAPIC (Nov.14-Nov.16 Cannes) and SIMI (Dec. in Paris). Why sponsor CREOpoint newsletters:

Written by and for leading executives
Global reach to a loyal audience of 45,000+ influential decision makers (many of whom will not attend these events)
CREOpoint is the proven leader in leveraging social media to extend your message

CREOpoint.com has 100,000+ visitors and members from over 50 countries. In less than three years we have developed over 40 client relationships and alliances with leading organizations who trust us. Thanks again to W. P. Carey for being the exclusive Platinum Sponsor of this newsletter. Please let me know directly at +1 914 310 4189 if you or one of your colleagues would like to explore how to also work more closely with us. My colleagues Geoff Madden (who recently joined CREOpoint from our partner The Wall Street Journal), Pierre Martin and I would be delighted to meet you at upcoming events from ULI Europe, MBA, AFIRE or MIPIM if you or one of your colleagues are also planning to participate?

Onwards and upwards in 2012. Meanwhile enjoy your Holidays!

CREOpoint Founder and President

CREOpoint HQ: 1040 First Avenue #343, New York, NY10022

American Cel.: +19143014189 Skype: jcgoldenstein

New European office:

CREOpoint offers new media and advisory solutions for commercial real estate success

We offer an online community platform for the industry as well as social media ....

We launched CREOpoint.com in 2008 and it has become the exclusive online network for commercial real estate decision makers worldwide. It offers professionals a focused environment in which they can access relevant news, share information and ideas with peers, increase their online visibility and reputation, and develop trusted relationships. In addition over 40,000 decision makers around the world read our corresponding global newsletters.

World class CREObuzz™ data mining and advisory solutions were added in 2010. We now advise global real estate leaders like CBRE and GE Capital Real Estate about global business development, online reputation, competitive intelligence, risk management and influencer engagement. In 2011, CREOpoint launched new subscriptions, customized news dashboards for CRE leaders and mobile apps for the industry.

Did you know?

CREOpoint founder and president moderated the advanced social media panel at the Urban Land Institute Fall Summit in Los Angeles. The consensus from a morning with executives with Bank of America, JLL, ULI and many others: industry leaders now recognize the importance of social media and are retaining real experts to help them manage risks as they move beyond experimentation.
For example Kimco is again showing its leadership by "setting up shop in the blogosphere!"
We are working with leading companies on customized filtered news apps that save time, money and risks! Please let us know if you'd also like to be one of the first in your profession to have this competitive advantage
Michael Evans, who used to run Ernst & Young Kenneth Leventhal and later E&Y Venture Group, joined CREOpoint Advisory Board after joining Prologis Advisory Board
PEI Media organized a great conference in New York about Private Equity Real Estate (November 9-10). Congratulations to Zoe Hughes and thanks for your hospitality.
Thanks also to Bob White, Dan Fasulo, Matt Stone and the Real Capital Analytics team for a fun Holiday Party, to Steve Felix for his annual get together, and to Bob O'Brien for Deloitte's 2011 Real Estate Industry Update last week.

Good reconnecting at ULI with Jonathan Schein who now leads Penton Commercial Real Estate Media Group, PR veteran Tim Gallen (second from right) and David Bodamer, Editorial Director Retail Traffic (right)

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