Three tidy half-hour presentations and panel discussions managed to convey a great amount of insight into the non-listed property market of 2010 and beyond. Key highlights from the INREV Investments Intentions Survey 2010 were detailed by INREV’s director of research before a panel of CEO’s and Managing Directors took the stage and engaged in an interactive discussion with each other and the audience.

Some highlights:
- INREV depends on team work; it works best when everyone pulls together.
- Transparency is seen as increasingly important to the industry.
- INREV is increasing its focus on developing online tools to make data more accessible and to allow for online analysis.
- A lot of investors entered at the peak of the market and got their fingers burned and have since lost their appetite for risk.
- Investors are not only flocking to core funds but to core markets, with the UK and French office markets topping the list.
- Value added investments have dropped by 40% Y-O-Y.
- The maximum LTV for banks lending to the non-listed market today is 65%.
- 1/3 of INREV’s Investments Intentions Survey respondents plan to increase their investments in sustainable real estate, but the availability of product is still lacking.
- If all investors flock to core assets the problem may arise again that the definition will broaden until secondary product may also be considered core.
- Getting compliance right with governments is very important within the non-listed sector or competitiveness will be undermined by the REIT market.

Some direct quotes:
- “The financial downturn has brought a lot of debate around the role of non-listed funds.”
- “It’s very clear that both investors and fund managers have refocused on core funds.”
- “CEE markets are no longer in the top ten; they have totally disappeared from the radar.”
- “Today it’s become very important for investors to know who they’re investing with; not only the fund manager and his track record, but who the other investors are.”
- “The Dutch market is still quite stable, and not overly affected by excess leverage.”
- “Returns should always be balanced with risk.”
- “It’s not the end of opportunistic funds, just a pause.”

It’s amazing what you can learn in 90 minutes. Our thanks go out to Andrea Carpenter, Interim CEO of INREV, and all the other speakers and member who attended to make this a fantastic and educational (not to mention potentially profitable) seminar.

Source: REP