Todd Voigt, senior portfolio manager at Ranger Global Real Estate Advisors, was a guest on the latest episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast.
Voigt discussed key issues impacting real estate investing today and how REITs might find opportunities amid market volatility.
“The great opportunity that U.S. REITs have, and particularly those early winners that we're seeing raise capital now, is that they have the balance sheets and access to equity to be the buyers. And oftentimes there'll be less buyers at that table and that's where you oftentimes get the best returns,” Voigt said.
Voigt also noted that U.S. REIT balance sheets are in “wonderful shape,” with average net debt to EBITDA at between five to six times. “That includes some of the more heavily levered REITs and so the quality REITs have even better leverage situations…. from that perspective, U.S. REITs are very well positioned for commercial real estate debt distress,” he added.
Voigt also discussed M&A activity, and said that it is likely to continue in the REIT space, especially given that about 80% of REITs still trade at discounts to NAV.
Other topics included how real estate fundamentals in the U.S. compare with global markets. Voigt noted that the U.S. economy is stronger than other global economies, which is a positive for real estate fundamentals. He added that differences in global macroeconomic cycles create opportunities for Ranger Global, which remains “very optimistic about U.S. real estate as well as the global real estate space today.”