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CHICAGO-During a recent gathering hosted by the Real Estate Investment Association, several industry members weighed in the trends that are spurring funds into the local real estate market.
Michael Mounts, a principal at Bank of America, admitted that real estate as an investment has had an extraordinary run compared to a decade ago. "It's now a respectable asset class," he told the audience. In the past, he explained, "real estate was an alternative investment--an individual investment. Few pension funds, for example, would invest in real estate."
Today, turning real estate assets into liquid investments have made the market much more appealing. "We take large real estate loans, pool them, sell them as bonds," Mounts said. "The key going forward now is picking assets." Investors and lenders will need to be more selective moving forward, he continued, weighing in interest rates and regulatory action that can make or break a deal.
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