We came across a number of items on the commercial real estate market that tell an interesting story.  It seems that buyers are backing off of their interest in so-called trophy properties.  This development has not stopped private equity firms from continuing to launch new real estate funds.  At the same time REITs now trade in line with other equity indices.  How quickly and how lasting the bounce in REITs will be dependent on the continued desire of institutional investors for real estate assets.  In today’s screencast we look at the state of the REIT market.

Items mentioned in the above screencast:

Prices for trophy properties have been on fire.  Time to worry?  (WSJ)

Private equity firms are piling into real estate.  (Bloomberg)

Bank of America ($BAC) is reportedly selling some real estate assets.  (FT)

REITs really aren’t a safe haven these days.  (WSJ)