ING: Global REIT Returns Estimated at 8%-12% for 2011

The best year on record for Canadian publicly-traded real estate just keeps getting better, driven by an insatiable demand from investors for a decent return. The capital markets had raised a total of $8.208-billion in announced deals as of Thursday , including $5-billion in equity, according to CIBC World Markets Inc. That total dollar amount smashed through the $6.255-billion raised in 2011 which was a record.

By Jake Zamansky:Over the last five years, as investment returns for bonds fell to rates approaching zero, financial advisors plowed their customers' funds into non-publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs).These private REITS were widely pitched as "safe and secure" investments whose annual dividend returns were in the 5-8% range, a "no-brainer" for investors seeking yield and safety of principal.

Two of the country’s largest pension funds have completed a real estate swap at the highest per-square-foot price to date in Canadian commercial property history. Veteran real estate analyst Neil Downey, managing director, global equity at RBC Capital Markets, released a note to investors confirming the deal, which sources indicate is for about $465-million for a 50% stake in TD Canada Trust Tower in Toronto’s financial district.

By Richard Shaw (QVM Group): Equity REITs are of interest to yield seeking investors who also favor hard assets and the prospect of rising portfolio income. In addition to yield, investors should be concerned about total return and volatility, particularly if they are in the withdrawal stage of their economic lives.

Tom Lydon submits: Real estate ETFs have bounced in a range so far in 2011 along with Treasury yields, but higher rates could hurt the sector as the borrowing costs of companies and home buyers rise.

Brad Case submits:A report issued today by Preqin, which collects data on private equity investing, details what it calls "real problems" in the private equity approach to real estate investment.

Brad Case submits:The beginning of any year is a good time to revisit strategic portfolio allocations, and that's especially true at a time of great market dislocation. Here's an analysis that I did originally back in 2007 (and that I update every month) whose conclusions may be useful for portfolio reallocation--and which didn't change throughout the market crisis.

Brad Case submits:Charles Schwab will begin trading a new "Schwab U.S. REIT ETF" (SCHH) on Thursday, January 13. The ETF will track the Dow Jones U.S. Select REIT Index, and will have total annual operating expenses of 0.13%.