REITWeek

US REITs have been on the run lately, their performance nearly double that of the broader equity market in the first five months of '11, we learned yesterday at NAREIT's REITWeek in NYC. More than 1,000 investors  crowded the Waldorf-Astoria to hear presentations of 100 REITs, which continues through today. Some stats to chew on: the self-storage sector topped other REIT market sectors in the first five months of this year, with an 18.4% gain. Among the primary food groups: the office sector led the way with a 17.8% gain, followed by apartments (16.9%), industrial (16%), and retail (13%). Within the retail sector, regional malls drove performance with a 17.6% gain. And leading the way for investor return over the past 12 months was industrial (45.6%), apartments (38.7%), retail (34.5%), and office (29.3%).

Say hello to the new ProLogis. Less than a week after the completion of its merger with AMB Property Corp. Co-CEOs Hamid Moghadam and Walt Rakowich were joined by CFO Bill Sullivan(center). The trio says there's less industrial demand in the US than the REIT had hoped, while there's a pick-up internationally. The real activity will come from Japan, where building owners in 30- to 40-year-old buildings post-earthquake will reconsider their properties and drive development starting at the end of this year. A ProLogis priority is capitalizing its Japan fund; it needs to attract third-party fund structures to supplement its income. Another: recycling $2B to $4B worth of assets over the next three years to capitalize its funds, new development, and a modest acquisition pipeline, as well as deleverage its balance sheet, which is currently in the low-40s(they hope to get down to 30%). In Dallas, ProLogis inked a 394k SF agreement with a large food manufacturer in Q1. The customer will occupy the space at ProLogis Park 20/35 near the intersection of I-20 and I-35 in South Dallas.