The real estate industry has been severely affected by recent developments in international capital markets. There has been a decline in real estate investment trust (REIT) share prices, and a decline in capital available for real estate ventures. These setbacks have coincided with serious financial problems of very large hedge funds and other institutional investors in the market for commercial mortgage-backed securities. This volume collects the revised papers first presented at a conference hosted by New York University's Salomon Center on the impact of globalization on real estate business cycles. To this end, the conference offered new insights into the implications of U.S. and global real estate cycles on real estate securities including REITs and mortgage-backed securities as well as direct real estate investment. The most important insight is that the amplitude and frequency of the cycles differ from place to place and time to time. To the extent that this implies that real estate markets around the world are not yet fully integrated, there are opportunities for global investors. There are also risks; the markets are becoming more correlated, most particularly in periods of crisis. Indeed, the relative immaturity of the Thai real estate market contributed significantly to the extent and severity of the Asian financial crisis of 1997. To exploit these opportunities and to manage the resulting risk, portfolio managers need to develop new data sources and empirical procedures designed to maximize the information content of the data that is available. The lack of high quality data emerges as the central and most pressing issue, not only from a portfolio management context, but alsofrom the standpoint of public policy.

In March 1999, New York University Salomon Center in assocIatIOn with the Department of Finance at NYU Stern held a one-day conference on the impact of real estate cycles on the real estate industry both from a domestic as well as an international perspective. The conference featured the leading research on this topic in the United States, Europe and Asia. Currendy, the real estate industry is at a critical point. New development projects around the world are being put on hold given recent developments in the international capital markets. The industry is hard hit by the decline in real estate investment trust (REIT) share prices and a shrink ing pool of capital for real estate ventures. This has unfortunately coincided with serious financial problems of very large hedge funds and other institutional investors in the market for commercial mortgage backed securities. There is need for new insights into the implications of U. S. and global real estate cycles on real estate secu rities including REITs and mortgage-backed securities as well as direct real estate investment. This global orientation is important given the high mobility of capital into the real estate, the increasing integration of real estate markets, and the proposed expan sion of real estate investment trusts (REIT) into international real estate. The process of globalization has resulted in increased competition between cities for the attrac tion of investment."