Rosemarie Thurston, head of the firm’s REITs and real estate funds practice, was quoted in an REIT.com article discussing how non-traded REITs are beginning to report the value of their shares of common stock based on more current appraisals of their portfolios. She noted that "[i]ncreased transparency is good for the industry. To the extent best practices are used to inform investors what the REIT's portfolios are worth, it increases the attractiveness of the space."
Thurston also pointed out in the article that despite facing increased scrutiny from investors and broker dealers, non-traded REITs are still attracting a "healthy" flow of investment capital, raising more than $8 billion in fresh capital through equity offerings in 2010 (a 30 percent increase over 2009 figures). "The valuations have been down, but they haven’t been so dramatic as to cause fundamental concerns about the industry, given that investors understand that real estate valuations have declined in all sectors. It doesn’t seem to have had an impact on capital raising."