Tony Edwards, Nareit’s senior executive vice president, was a guest on the Nareit REIT Report® podcast. Edwards will be retiring from Nareit at the end of March, and in this episode he reflects on some of the highpoints of his career and the major changes in the industry during the past three decades.
Edwards said he expects to see more private real estate shift to the public market over time, pointing to the benefits REITs offer in terms of market discipline, low leverage, and their ability to weather market disruptions such as the great financial crisis and the pandemic.
During the interview, Edwards discusses:
- Why the mission of REIT investing has kept him so engaged.
- Changes in the REIT industry landscape, especially the proliferation of asset classes and increased sophistication of management teams.
- Important legislative goals during his Nareit career, including efforts to make REITs more competitive with commercial real estate and easier to invest in, and efforts to allow REITs to offer more cutting-edge services to their tenants and to have more flexibility in managing their businesses.
- The adoption of the REIT model globally.
- Changes to the real estate landscape as a result of the pandemic.