The real estate industry has taken great strides to improve disclosure and overall communication with investors and analysts. A primary tool for this exchange of information is a company’s annual report. At its Institutional Investor Forum in June, NAREIT recognized the winners of its Annual Report Contest.

The contest was open to all REITs and publicly traded real estate companies that are NAREIT corporate members. Entrants were broken down into groups based on the company’s equity market capitalization. Gold, silver and bronze awards were presented in three categories: Management Discussion & Analysis; Presentation & Design; and Web Site.

And the gold winners were:

In the Management Discussion & Analysis category: Acadia Realty Trust (Small Cap), Gables Residential Trust (Mid Cap) and Archstone-Smith (Large Cap). In the Presentation & Design category: Associated Estates Realty Corporation (Small Cap), Taubman Centers, Inc. (Mid Cap) and Archstone-Smith (Large Cap). In the Web Site category: Price Legacy Corporation (Small Cap), Parkway Properties, Inc. (Mid Cap) and General Growth Properties, Inc. (Large Cap). For a complete list of this year’s winners, see pages 44 and 45 or visit www.nareit.com.

In This Issue

In our cover story, “Changes at the Top,” we explore how the characteristics and skills real estate companies look for in their top executives has evolved right along with the overall industry’s growth. In many ways, the demands of the public market have been the biggest instigator of these changes.

In addition, we discuss the rise in urban infill development as residents and developers return to the cities. “Filling in the Blanks” looks at this answer to suburban sprawl and sees how long it is likely to continue as a viable investment option for real estate companies.

Finally, the ongoing terrorist threats have solidified the importance of real estate companies having a sound crisis management plan in place. Available exclusively online, “Managing Crisis” looks at how important an updated crisis plan is to protecting a company and its investors.

Matthew Bechard
Editor-in-Chief