1/12/2007 REITs, NYC, L.A. contiue to grow

Mike Wright found a piece of interest to share in GlobeSt.com 1/9/2007 -- itals of particular note.... MAW .....

Lusk Center Chief Sees Steady Capital Flow
By Bob Howard

"LOS ANGELES-Real estate capital will head in new directions in 2007, according to one of the industry's longtime students of commercial real estate. Stan Ross, chairman of the board of the University of Southern California's Lusk Center for Real Estate, calls 2007 the “Year of Recycling” for real estate capital.

Ross explains that capital is not leaving property markets, but it is “being recycled into small equity funds, limited partnerships and alternative investments.” A good part of what's happening with capital this year is an outgrowth of last year's privatization push, in which some of the largest public REITs went private, according to Ross.

Ross cites New York and Los Angeles among the “leading metropolitan markets” where properties will continue to command top dollar. In addition to investing in traditional office, retail, industrial and hotel assets, investors are going to be taking a closer look at alternative investments including urban infill, adaptive reuse and multifamily-retail developments near inner city transit centers, Ross says.

Despite the disappearance of some of the largest REITs, the capital that was fueling their growth is still around and it wants to remain in real estate, according to Ross. He says that some investors who previously had been targeting public REITs “will shift to smaller private equity funds and hedge funds as well as limited partnerships, joint ventures and direct investments in niche properties.”

for the complete article see: http://www.globest.com/news/819_819/losangeles/151989-1.html?type=pf