''I think what gets us excited bout REITs, is that in the '90s stocks did very well,'' Brown tells GlobeSt.com. ''The S&P 500 returned 19% a year for a period of time, but if you look over the last 60 years, the return was something around 12%. And then you have people like Warren Buffett saying you should expect 7% for stock returns. In this environment, REITs will compare very favorably. They provide a dividend yield of 6% to 8% and total returns of 12% to 14%. That's pretty attractive to investors in this environment.''

Companies it owns include Vornado Realty Trust, General Growth Properties, and Brookfield Properties.

In the Denver area, he likes ProLogis, United Dominion, Apartment Investment and Management and Chateau Communities, the largest ownerof manufactured housing.

He praises AIMCO's purchase of the Casden Co., which gives it a large presence in southern California.

''I think that was a very good purchase,'' Brown tells GlobeSt.com. ''Southern California is a very good place to be for the long-term. And AIMCO has a lot of experience with affordable housing, and a percentage of what they bought fits into that category.''

Brown says if he had more time on this trip, he would have stopped at Chateau Communities in Greenwood Village to meet with top management.

''Their stock hasn't performed to well recently,'' he tells GlobeSt.com. ''They made a large purchase last year and they've had some problems with it. But I think the assets they bought are basically solid and will do well.''

He says he would ask management how their efforts are proceeding on meshing the purchase with its company.

As far as the Denver-area's market, he says that its offices and apartments have been hit harder than many other parts of the country because of the huge growth in telecommunications and high-tech, before those bubbles burst.

Denver still retains its high quality of life, but it will take a year to 18 months before its real estate market recovers, he says.