While few tears were shed by the REIT and publicly traded real estate industry at the close of either 1998 or 1999, many in the industry were probably sorry to see the year 2000 come to an end.

In both 1998 and 1999, REITs and publicly traded real estate companies were clearly out of favor among the investment community despite outstanding real estate fundamentals and generally strong operating performance. Our industry's solid but relatively "stodgy" double-digit returns were no competition for the mind-boggling stock performance of many dot-coms. REITs and publicly traded real estate companies were at best ignored, and at worst shunned by investors, and stock prices suffered the consequences.

The year 2000 saw a welcome reversal of fortune. Many of the technology companies' stocks plummeted. Investors became conservative amid fears of inflation, interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve and uncertainty about corporate earnings, and most REIT stock prices headed north. Those "stodgy" double-digit returns once again looked attractive to investors seeking to diversify their portfolios with proven income generation and potential for long-term growth.

A big part of NAREIT's mission in the coming year is to take advantage of this opportunity to tell investors our story. NAREIT's goal is to reach out to current and potential investors in a sustained and constructive manner. In addition to its conferences and investor conference calls, NAREIT will be on the road visiting 401(k) and other tax-deferred savings plan sponsors, and domestic and non-U.S. pension plans, endowments, foundations, consultants and advisors.

To aid these outreach efforts, NAREIT is redoubling its efforts to place relevant articles and research about the industry in newspapers, magazines and journals.

NAREIT is also striving to put more timely, valuable information in the hands of investors. The entire family of NAREIT Real-Time Indexes is now available to subscribers of The Bloomberg Professional Service. Bloomberg Professional subscribers can access real-time publicly traded real estate industry data for equity, mortgage and hybrid REITs and real estate operating companies. They can also review historical performance data since 1972 and directly link to NAREIT's award-winning web site, which receives a million hits a month.

We still face major hurdles in educating the investment community about our industry and the attractiveness of real estate stocks relative to other investment alternatives. While no one can predict how 2001 will turn out for the industry, NAREIT has armed itself well for the task ahead.

Warren E. (Ned) Spieker
Nareit chair