NACORE speakers bullish on global investment opportunities

Real Estate Weekly, March 17, 1999

Real estate investment professionals discussed market opportunities and outlooks for the near term at a recent NACORE New York luncheon. Judging from the panel of speakers, who represent leading investment firms, it is apparent that there are plenty of players looking for opportunities both here and abroad.

Speaker Jonathan D. Gray, vice president of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors, sees opportunities in large urban and institutional quality properties that can be purchased at a discount. The Blackstone Group is investing in attractive urban areas, including cosmopolitan cities like Paris.

"We look for pockets of value where liquidity exists," said Gray. "We are bullish on major urban cities where human capital is concentrated."

Graham J. Bond, senior executive vice president of Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, sees opportunity funds heading overseas. Lend Lease is a global real estate company with a U.S. portfolio that includes 148 million square feet of office, retail, industrial and hotel space. Brokers and management companies are expanding and merging to better serve corporate clients, according to Bond. Why go global?

"Several factors prevail that suggest global undertakings. including currency integration in Europe, democratization and growth in Latin America, and the strength of the U.S. dollar," said Bond. "What happens in Tokyo, Brazil or Moscow is more important than what happens on Main Street."

According to Michael Berman of Merrill Lynch Realty Investments Banking, there has been an explosion in real estate debt markets, with a tremendous source of capital coming forward. Berman attributes the underperformance of real estate stocks to the money going into the Standard & Poor 500.

"Large caps are getting the attention," noted Berman. "People are not being driven by dividend yield at the present time." Going forward, he sees pension funds increasing allocation in real estate.

Robert E. Roethenmund, co-managing partner of Crow Holdings International, takes an "add value" approach to reposition properties. Outlet center development and industrial parks are ideas maturing in Europe, with industrial parks particularly popular in Germany and Hungary.

Crow manages international operations with an asset base of approximately five million square feet of owned and managed properties in Asia, Europe and South America.

Other speakers included Allen H. Reichman, vice president of Chase Investment Services Corp., and Jay Henry, principal of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds, which recently raised $2.1 billion in equity.

Morgan Stanley's strategy for real estate investments lie in repositioning products, turning B properties into A properties. Turnaround stories include 120 Wall Street, a deal with Silverstein Properties, and 140 Broadway.

"We look for under-leased, under-managed, quality properties with large floorplates and good parking ratios that can be redeveloped," said Henry