Sandy Presant, chair of the Real Estate Fund Practice at Greenberg Traurig LLP, joined REIT.com for a video interview atREITWise 2016: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C.
Presant said capital in the private real estate market is “very heated,” as foreign funds continue to be attracted to the safe haven of the United States.
“You have lots of money coming in from offshore; there’s a lot of money chasing a finite amount of real estate,” Presant said. Presant added that opportunities for public REITs to partner with private capital exist if they are “nimble.”
Meanwhile, Presant noted that the high level of commercial debt coming due in the next few years has raised concerns.
“Everybody’s worried about it. You’re seeing the creation of private debt funds to fill in the void, and we’re seeing more people dealing with Mortgage REITs,” he said.