Reits in high-growth markets should gun for short leases: KORE CEO Snyder

He believes this enabled Keppel Pacific Oak US Reit's portfolio to generate 14.7% rent reversions in H1.

Published Sun, Aug 9, 2020 · 09:50 PM

DAVID Snyder, the CEO of Keppel Pacific Oak US Reit (KORE), doesn't believe in long weighted average lease expiries (WALEs), because he thinks it prevents landlords from realising positive rent increases for good properties located in strong markets.

"The stronger your market, the shorter lease terms you want," he said. "This is one of those myths that are perpetuated in the marketplace by office landlords who don't exist in strong markets and don't have good tenancies and ... say their WALE is really long, like that's a good thing."

Most Reits boast about long WALEs because it is an assurance of stability in their rental income in the medium term.

For H1 2020, the other two US office Reits listed in Singapore, Manulife US Reit and Prime US Reit, reported WALEs of 5.7 years and 4.8 years, respectively. They saw rental reversions o…