Mark Decker Jr., group head of U.S. real estate, lodging and leisure at BMO Capital Markets, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWeek 2014: NAREIT’s Investor Forum, held in New York.
Decker was asked which REIT sectors seem to be most active in the capital markets at this time.
“With the index up close to 15 percent right now, everybody is active and looking. It feels like [the office sector] has got some more wind in its sails. I think retail has some good wind in its sails,” he replied.
Decker added that recent news of transactions in the health care and net lease sectors are evidence that the industry is “active across the board.”
Decker also discussed the possibility of seeing new entrants into the initial public offering (IPO) pipeline.
“The IPOs have been working. We’ve gotten some really scaled companies into the market. Blackstone (Group LP) has bought several good assets to market. I think they’ll bring several more, along with other folks in the private equity world. So, I think the IPO market is there and I think we’ll see more people come into it,” he said.
Looking specifically at IPO activity in the single-family rental market, Decker said he expects investors to continue to participate, but to carefully scrutinize the business model.