NEW YORK CITY—However, Fitch Ratings sounds a note of caution on deal metrics as the year progresses, citing increasing leverage among other factors.

CHICAGO—The healthcare REIT's chairman and CEO says her company is entering 2015 “with confidence in our team, business model and momentum.”

WASHINGTON, DC—The shortage of quality stock is “feeding through into secondary opportunities” on the investment front, says RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn.

SAN ANTONIO—The real estate investment arm of USAA is “moderately optimistic about investment prospects in 2015,” with research head Will McIntosh predicting “an intriguing first half of the year.”

NEW YORK CITY—The asset management giant has reached an agreement with RXR to recapitalize a 5.3-million-square-foot office portfolio in New York and New Jersey, highlighted by the iconic Starrett-Lehigh Building.

BEACHWOOD, OH—Chairman Terry Ahern says Oakes, who had stepped in as senior executive officer after Hurwitz resigned, is “the right person to lead DDR into the future.”

NEW YORK CITY—However, longer-term economic and demographic trends continue to bode well for multifamily starts and demand among renters, Barclays' chief US economist said Tuesday

TORONTO—Splitting into separate companies, one focusing on commercial real estate and the other on residential services, represents “the next bold, but logical, step,” says founder and CEO Jay Hennick.