Janet Price, group managing director of Fitch, notes that, "with the continuous evolution of the CMBS and REIT markets, it is difficult for investors to keep current with market information and even more challenging to place those changes in proper context."

The first issue features a review of a recent servicer/investor roundtable discussion hosted by Fitch that covered issues such as missing documents, pooling and servicing agreement enforcement and servicer information flexibility. Other articles provide an overview of the REIT market, as well as a comparison of CMBS servicing with the servicing of other types of structured-finance transactions.

Real Estate Update can be accessed at www.fitchratings.com under the Newsletters section of US Commercial Mortgage. Free registration is required. Visitors can sign up for Portfolio Update, an e-mail service that provides notice of future editions.