Home Property Australia Chief Executive | REITs for the future 

Chief Executive | REITs for the future 

  • April 04, 2023
  • by Mike Zorbas

1 April 1971 saw the creation of the General Property Trust.

It was an act of thought leadership that has served Australia well.

By international consensus, this made us the third country in the world to embrace Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) behind the United States and the Netherlands.

Supporting structures that allow active business operations at the same time as fair tax flow through treatment of passive rental income is the smart way to encourage investment in nation building and communities globally.

The idea took off in advanced markets. At most a generous reckoning there are 42 countries that are home to one or more REITs.

However, there are only a dozen or so countries that we would recognise as having true REIT systems and even these vary significantly.

How then to create a broader, more consistent REIT framework across more countries?

This question, among other regulatory issues, was on the table as the chief executives of the sister bodies of the Property Council of Australia met last week in Toronto.

This group, the Real Estate Equity Securitisation Alliance (REESA) first met in November 2006 through the agency of co-founders including NAREIT President and CEO Steve Wechsler and then Property Council Chief Executive Peter Verwer. REESA members include APREA (Asia), ARES (Japan), BPF (UK), EPRA (Europe), NAREIT (United States), ourselves and RealPAC (Canada).

Spanning Europe, Asia and North America our REESA peers are ambitious to improve global regulatory environments and grow the number of countries where investment in cities is made reliable and transparent through trusted and recognisable REIT frameworks.

At their upcoming meeting this September they will map the next steps of this ambitious and worthy project.

Now that is big picture thought leadership indeed.

On an important housekeeping note, our new website launched on Monday.

It boasts an updated look and additional functionalities that enable you to view and handle your event reservations, course registrations, personal information, and email choices.

Please go have a look and remember to reset your password to take full advantage of the new site.