The book offers broad understanding and unique insights into the REITs industry. Its scope is to analyze and synthesize the existing scholarly research on REITs in a way that will enable managers to improve their investments decisions and the operating performance of their REITs. It also provides up-to-date original research on REITs based on the authors' own database, which is the most extensive data base available on REITs that is free of suvivorship bias. This book helps investors evaluate REITs and identify those with the greatest investment potential. Finally, it provides the reader with a detailed discussion of likely future changes anticipated for this unique invetment vehicle.

"This analysis and synthesis of the existing scholarly research on REITS should enable managers to improve their investment decisions and the operating performance of their portfolios."--Business Horizons

Su Han Chan holds a Ph.D. degree in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin and is currently a professor at the University of Hong Kong and at California State University-Fullerton. She has published in the leading finance and real estate journals on topics such as strategic alliances, equity offerings capital investment decisions and real estate investment trusts. She currently serves on the editorial board of the Financial Management Association International Survey and Synthesis Series, the Journal of Real Estate Research and the International Real Estate Review. John Erickson holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from the University of California at Davis and id currently a professor and the Chair of Finance at California State University-Fullerton. He has publishes articles on REIT's in Real Estate Economics and the Journal of Real Estate Research. He has also published in the Journal of Finance and the Journal of Law and Economics. Ko Wang has published extensively in the best real estate and finance journals. He is the editor of Journal of Real Estate Research, founding editor of International Real Estate Review and Associate Editor of seven other journals. Professor Wang received the achievement award fromt he International Real Estate Society, was named a Fellow of the Homer Hoyt Institute, and is active in consultancy in the United States, Japan and Hong Kong. He is a chaired Professor of Real Estate at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Professor of Real Estate at the California State University at Fullerton. Prior to that, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Finance at the University of Texas at Austin.

1. Introduction

2. The Origins and Evolution of Real Estate Investment Trusts

3. Organizational Structure

4. Advisor Puzzle

5. REIT Economies of Scale

6. The Impact of Institutional Investors

7. Diversification versus Focus

8. Dividends and Debt Policies of REITs

9. REIT Security Offerings

10. The Performance of REIT Stocks

11. The Predictability of the REIT Stock Market

12. The Future of REITs

Appendix Monthly Stock Returns and Performance Index of All Publicly Traded REITs (1962-2000 and 2001-2002)

Index