By Peter Slatin

Information flow is like a river, which sometimes runs straight and clear, but other times may shift course and become muddied.

The possibility of data disintermediation at any point in the real estate chain is understandable, from where it is collected at the base building, to how it gets sifted through multiple levels of managers and lands in the boardroom—and then gets processed back out to the community of analysts, investors, media and the larger world. It is even desirable for the corporate stewards of information to guard it like the treasure it is.

In today’s world, what makes information even more valuable than holding on to it, is letting it go. Politicians have learned this; so too are REIT management teams. However, whether information is held tight or sent out into the public market, there will always be those with misaligned interests who are willing and eager to distort it. That’s much more likely to happen when critical information is not disclosed in an orderly, timely and public manner. When information becomes available beyond the reach of those with narrow or negative interests—in other words, when everyone can get to it—the potential for long-term harm is greatly reduced. Those with an ax to grind will no longer be able to use proprietary information—either real or imagined—as a lathe.

Consider the ongoing trend of partnering with offshore or institutional investors. When a company like Regency Centers partners with a CalPERS and shares the news in detail, investors are equipped to evaluate the nature and quality of the partnership. If a Maguire Properties or Reckon Associates seeks an alliance with an Australian company and makes its intentions and even a potential deal structure clear even before a deal is done, it is removing an element of uncertainty from investors’ minds while laying the groundwork for further explanation. When an SL Green Realty spins off a Gramercy Capital, it then clarifies and strengthens its own business lines. And if it chooses to do business with that company, having the deal out in the open is that much more transparent to investors in both companies than it would be as an intra-REIT transaction.

It works the other way, too, and this is where it gets really tricky. I’m not big on sports metaphors, but this one applies: As important as is the release in shooting a basketball, the manner in which information is disclosed is critical—perhaps more so than the means and ability of gathering it in the first place.

REIT managers and REIT analysts have found some common ground on information disclosure, and the nature of information and access to it in the REIT world has certainly improved in recent years. Nonetheless, the goal should be to continue to produce clearer and more valuable information. Despite the pressure that fund managers are under to put money to work, they aren’t about to do so on a hunch. They need information.

So, what information would analysts, fund managers and investors like to see increased? That’s for good companies to work hard to discover. There’s always a better way to tell a story.