Record sale prices and concerns over the economic cycle have turned many public REITs with large D.C.-area holdings into sellers this year.
REITs including JBG Smith, AvalonBay Communities, Washington REIT, Host Hotels and others have all closed major property sales this year or reportedly have large portfolios on the market, a sign that the publicly traded real estate firms are engaging in similar strategies of selling off assets.
“People are cognizant of where we’re at in the cycle. It’s the later stages, and the transaction market is active and there are different buyers out there today,” said Robert W. Baird Senior Research Analyst Michael Bellisario, who covers lodging REITs.
“So if you want to sell assets you don’t want to own for the next five years, now is a good time to sell. That’s what we’re seeing not just in the hotel market, but broadly across real estate.” JBG Smith has been one of the most active sellers among the D.C.-area REITs. The Montgomery County-based REIT unveiled a strategy in March to unload assets in what it sees as a seller’s market. It has since raised over $549M through a string of sales and recapitalizations, most recently the $65M sale of the Lion Building in Northwest D.C.
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