Now real estate is about to attract billions again. Hopefully it won't end with accelerated inflation punctuated by deflation. Residential real estate lost its investment luster when it deflated like a blown-up balloon meeting a sharp nail.
Today is a very different time for REITs.
The ventures are a way of investing in real estate with stock like liquidity and the risk spread over several or many properties. REIT management is rapidly maturing and directors are more than paid stooges for entrepreneurial founders who, when flush with fresh money, would buy anything that looked good in a brochure. The specter of speculative over building is not breathing fear into most markets because lenders have become more selective and analysts wiser. Buildings are being built for proven markets, not lenders. Profits come from buildings that satisfy specific demand.