With the New Year upon us, it is customary to take some time to reflect on the passing of the old and look forward to the new with anticipation. 2000 brought some welcome changes to the REIT and publicly traded real estate world. Stock prices moved steadily upward, merger and acquisition activity was rekindled, especially in the community shopping center sector, and balance sheets at most companies continued to look very strong.
But the future is, as always, uncertain and 2001 brings with it many variables for REITs and publicly traded real estate companies. Among the factors that managements must consider will be: the implementation of the REIT Modernization Act; a new administration in the White House; a still healthy, but slower-growth U.S. economy; a stock market that has been favorable but remains as unpredictable as ever; and possible interest rate cuts.
In this issue we have brought together some very well informed opinions on the opportunities that the year may present. In our Professional Perspectives column, a number of the industry's leading analysts make known their views on how Taxable REIT Subsidiaries, net asset value (NAV) measurement and technology advances, among other issues, will affect the industry.
In our "Forward Looking" feature, Douglas McEachern of Deloitte & Touche explores seven key issues that some leading REIT managers are seeing as pivotal in the year ahead.
Our cover story, "Catch the Edge," looks even further forward—examining the potential impact of current demographic trends on the active senior housing market. The future certainly looks bright for this sector, but taking advantage of favorable trends is never as easy as it might seem.
In "A Continental Flair" we take a look at the current state of publicly traded real estate companies in Europe, with an eye toward their future possibilities.
Finally, our feature profile, "Shopping Smart," gives us chance to see how a truly forward looking business plan has allowed Regency Realty to grow their company through the creative use of market research data.
With this issue we are also introducing a new section, Industry Agenda: News from NAREIT. This section will provide news about the many activities of our national association and provide important information from the NAREIT research department on current and historical trends in the industry.
Christopher W. Murphy
Editor-in-Chief
