Customer Reviews

Real Estate Investment Trusts: Structure, Analysis and Strategy

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book because I am an investor in REITS and wanted to get a deeper insight into comparing different REITs to find the best ones to invest in. I wanted to be able to read the balance sheets of several different REITs and decide which is the better investment. This book left me bored and no further forward.

The main problem is that each chapter is written by a different "expert" on a particular topic such as "Asset Allocation" or "Institutional Investing". Firstly these experts may be great money managers but they are dull writers without a jot of personality. The chapter on Tax Treatment of REITs is a lifeless regurgitation of the tax code. Worse, the editors did not steer each contributor strictly enough to avoid repetition and as a result every chapter begins with yet another review of REIT history.

There was no analysis of different REIT business models, such as trading CMOs compared with Residential or Office space. There is no analysis of how to tell good REIT managers from ordinary ones. I was optimistic about the chapter on Asset Allocation to see how REITs fit in with stock and bonds in your portfolio but again I was disapppointed. After grinding through page after page differential equations the chapter fizzled out with no mention of reccomended asset allocation ratios.

I gave the book 2 stars instead of none because the data seems to be accurate and authoritative but then so is the maintenance manual for my vacuum cleaner. A $75 book has a duty to do more than assemble boring facts in sequence.

I don't really know who this book is targeted towards. If you are going to be a junior paper pusher employed by a REIT it may give you a head start but the rest of the planet should look somewhere else.

The book provided an insightful overview of the REIT industry. The book was organized by various topics relating to investing and managing a REIT. The chapters were written by practioners and academics working in the different REIT industry areas. The authors were able to provide vital insights into their areas of expertise. As a new REIT employee I learned about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for my company and the REIT industry as a whole. some of the chapters were a bit technical in nature; particularly the analysis on historical private verses public REIT returns. Overall the book should be required reading for REIT investors and Managers as well.

I think this is the most comprehensive book on Real Estate Investment Trusts. The chapters are written by different experts of the industry. But, I have to warn you that it is not an easy read. I think people who are going to benefit the most from this book are serious investors and real estate professionals. While other books mainly talk about REITs as investment securities, I really liked that this book did more because it offered guidance on how to start your own REIT and what it takes to take it public. I also liked the description of different players, such as life insurance companies and pension funds, and why they invest in REITs. The section on the financial analysis of REITs was also very good.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

This book contains a collection of 18 different articles about REITs. The book is somewhat dated, so readers will need to take that into account when consulting this book. The articles are generally useful. There are articles from the perspective of REIT boards(e.g. 10. REIT Governance for Directors and Trustees), management (7. REITs and Commercial Lenders: The Evolving Relationship), investors (14. Financial Analysis of REIT securities), and institutional investors (17. REIT Investment: The Pension Fund Perspective).