Janet Price, group managing director of Fitch, notes that, "withthe continuous evolution of the CMBS and REIT markets, it isdifficult for investors to keep current with market information andeven more challenging to place those changes in propercontext."

The first issue features a review of a recent servicer/investorroundtable discussion hosted by Fitch that covered issues such asmissing documents, pooling and servicing agreement enforcement andservicer information flexibility. Other articles provide anoverview of the REIT market, as well as a comparison of CMBSservicing with the servicing of other types of structured-financetransactions.

Real Estate Update can be accessed at www.fitchratings.com underthe Newsletters section of US Commercial Mortgage. Freeregistration is required. Visitors can sign up for PortfolioUpdate, an e-mail service that provides notice of futureeditions.