The analyst community appears split on what 2004 will hold for REITs, with forecasts ranging from a 28 percent gain to an 11 percent decline in total returns. The highest prediction came from Stephanie Krewson at BB&T Capital Markets, who anticipates a 28 percent total return. On the low end was David Shulman of Lehman Brothers, projecting an 11 percent drop. As for specific sectors, the majority of the analysts Portfolio spoke with said retail (specifically the mall sector) would likely be the top-performing sector in 2004.

2004 Analyst Forecasts
Company	Lead Analyst	Total Returns Range	Top Projected Sector
BB&T Capital Markets	Stephanie Krewson	28%	Triple-Net
Citigroup Smith Barney	Jonathan Litt	15%	Office
Merrill Lynch	Steve Sakwa	5% to 15%	Regional Malls
Legg Mason Wood Walker	David Fick	12%	Retail
Deutsche Bank	Louis Taylor	10% to 12%	Malls
A.G. Edwards	William Camp	8% to 12%	Retail
Raymond James	Paul Puryear	9% to 11%	Lodging
RBC Capital Markets	Jay Leupp	7% to 10%	Malls
Wachovia Capital Markets	Christopher Haley	5% to 10%	Retail (first half of 2004)
Credit Suisse First Boston	Jay Habermann	6% to 8%	Regional Malls
UBS	Keith Mills	4% to 7%	Office
Banc of America Securities	Lee Schalop	0%	Malls
Morgan Stanley	Greg Whyte	-5% to -10%	Industrial
Lehman Brothers	David Shulman	-11%	Malls
Source: NAREIT, Analyst reports.