4 Tips for Savvy Real Estate Investors

Real estate investments offer numerous, well-documented benefits, such as portfolio diversification and total real return potential from both yield and price appreciation.

But real estate investment returns are sensitive to multiple factors, like interest rate levels and the economic outlook for the different property segments.

The Altegris/AACA Real Estate Long Short Fund (RAAAX) attempts to avoid the problems of a long-only exposure to real estate by using the long-short structure, as well as a highly strategic screening process for its investments.

The fund launched in early 2011; as of June 30, it had some $42 million in net assets.

Its largest long positions have been in companies operating retail stores, preferred stocks and gaming companies; the largest short sectors were interest rate and credit spreads, multifamily and housing stocks.

According to portfolio manager Burl East, CFA, the fund seeks four traits in potential investments.

The first trait is few participants in the sector, ideally a monopoly, duopoly or oligopoly.

For example, he says, there are 10,000 or so owners of suburban office space in the U.S., which leads to constant price competition. But there are only a small number of participants in industries like student housing, data centers, gaming or cellphone towers.

The small number of providers decreases the risk of overbuilding and price competition.

The second desired trait is a barrier to entry. Office buildings are subject to zoning regulations, but otherwise there are no significant barriers to building.

“But, it’s very hard to build, for instance, a brand new hospital, [and] it’s very hard actually to build medical offices,” East says.  Plus, it’s “very hard to build student housing, as those need to be built on the campus of a large university.”

Factor three: barriers to exit that deny choice to tenants. In other words, the tenant can’t easily sign a lease with another local landlord, pack up and relocate.