Over the last few decades, real estate investment through REITs has gone through a dramatic evolution.
The REIT market has grown in terms of market capitalization, assets, diversity and geographic reach. The creation of headline real estate sectors populated mainly by REITs in the S&P/MSCI Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) and the FTSE Russell Industry Classification Benchmark underscores the growing importance of REIT-based real estate investment in the equities marketplace.
All of these developments underline that REITs are helping to democratize real estate investment, just as Congress intended when it authorized REITs almost 60 years ago.
Meanwhile, REIT-owned real estate has come to play an increasingly vital role in how people live, work, shop and relax. We’re able to stay in touch, maintain our health and store our data, among many other things, thanks in large measure to the real estate provided by REITs. Moreover, REITs help build and support communities at every level throughout the nation.
While every REIT has its own story to tell, the individual companies that make up the industry are united in a common approach to real estate investment shaped by REIT rules and market practices. Nareit represents its members by showing how this approach serves the public’s interest.
The sustained growth of the REIT industry over the last few decades presents Nareit with an opportunity to better spotlight our industry’s service vision and to communicate the REIT story more effectively. Going forward, we will now identify ourselves only as Nareit, not as the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. Nareit truly reflects how we are known in the global marketplace.
We also are updating Nareit’s presence in terms of its visual identity and message presentation. And, our new tagline—Real estate working for you—expresses the value proposition REITs bring each and every day to investors, communities and the economy. We have redesigned our communications tools along these lines, including Nareit’s website and this magazine, to better educate and engage investors, policymakers and the media on the REIT way of real estate investment.
The underlying goal is to bring clarity and consistency to our discussions with a variety of audiences about Nareit, the industry we represent and what REITs do. Nareit’s mission remains as before: advocating for REIT-based real estate investment with policymakers and the global investment community.
Simply put, we aim to show how REITs truly represent real estate working for you.
Thomas J. Baltimore, Jr.
Chairman of the Board, President and CEO, Park Hotels & Resorts
2018 Nareit Chair