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By Steven Marks, Managing Director & Head of U.S. REITs, Fitch Ratings: As property fundamentals bottom out, signs of visible recovery are now in place for multi-family REITs, along with solid liquidity and capital markets access. This is precipitating a stable outlook for multi-family REITs through next year.

By Jonathan Hipp, President & CEO, Calkain Cos., Inc.: From a triple-net lease investment perspective, urban properties such as a typical strip center benefit from a strong anchor or even shadow-anchor presence. One unique aspect of urban properties is that the anchor can be a dense concentration of office space or even a subway station because the flow of trains, buses, cars, taxis and pedestrians is the engine that drives the street scene. As a result, triple-net urban properties are experiencing increased demand, having remained successful in the face of the recession.

Greater Washington, DC absorbed more than 2.5 million square feet while Seattle contributed 1.2 million square feet as Amazon began moving into its newly completed campus in South Lake Union. Grubb & Ellis’ Seattle analyst reports that demand from smaller tenants in that market appears to have stabilized, and some are expanding. Thirty of the 55 markets reporting so far report positive absorption.

Source: Larry Kay, Standard & Poor’s