Chronology of Coverage

Oct. 1, 2013

Empire State Realty Trust, owner of the Empire State Building, has completed its initial public offering after months of legal wrangling, raising about $930 million. MORE

Jul. 24, 2013

Legal battle over an obscure real estate investment trust called CommonWealth REIT lays bare the private world of Barry Portnoy, who oversees a $25 billion real estate empire stretching from Boston to Honolulu that is rarely noticed outside tight business circles; each side accuses the other of baldface greed. MORE

Gretchen Morgenson Fair Game column observes that shareholders of real estate investment trust PennyMac have profited with 32 percent return since it went public in 2009, but not as much as its chief executive officer and chairman Stanford L Kurland, who also leads the financial services company that manages it; discusses potential conflicts in his roles. MORE

Gretchen Morgenson Fair Game column examines situation at CommonWealth REIT, which owns $7.8 billion in office buildings nationwide; contends that company is in a class by itself as far as entrenched corporate executives buildings fortifications to maintain their plush status quo; notes that company is trying furiously to fend off two big activist shareholders intent on change. MORE

Small but growing number of American corporations are making an aggressive move to reduce, or even eliminate, their federal tax bills by declaring that they are special trusts; changing from a standard corporation to a real estate investment trust does not require the companies to change their underlying business and typically drives up a company’s stock price. MORE

Real estate sector showed new signs of life in second-quarter 2012, adding allure to REITs and the funds that focus on them; average real estate fund rose 3.5 percent, according to Morningstar; some analysts, however, worry that prices may be too expensive. MORE

Boston Properties plans to continue its strategy of owning prime buildings in top locations, even as the real estate market is riddled with uncertainty; it is moving forward with a 39-story Midtown Manhattan office tower, even though the building only has one tenant so far; company focuses on prime properties in five markets, and has not ruled out future investments. MORE

Apr. 18, 2012

Vornado Realty Trust seeks to assure shareholders concerned about its vast, possibly unwieldy portfolio by promising to consider a wide range of remedies for fixing the company, including shrinking its size or splitting in two. MORE

Real estate investment trusts in nontraditional categories like cold storage warehouses and cellphone towers are performing exceptionally well despite the sluggish economy; REITs tend to be good investment opportunities in tough economic times. MORE

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