The Benefits of Doing an UPREIT

LOS ANGELES—In 2015, rising prices gave way to a huge increase in 1031 exchanges as a way for investors to defer capital gains taxes. In some cases, we even saw investors moving capital out of multifamily and into product where they could increase cash flow and get a better yield—but other product types don’t have that option. In an earlier story, GlobeSt.com reported that Plaza International sold its Warner Plaza shopping center for $76 million in an UPREIT transaction, which allowed the investor to avoid capital gains taxes, just like a 1031 exchange, in exchange for shares of a public company. With an ever-dwindling supply and compressing cap rates, we may see more of these transaction types this year.

“Part of the problem that we have seen over the last 18 months is a lack of product,” Kyle Miller, senior managing director at Savills Studley, tells GlobeSt.com. “Anyone going into a large sale and wanting to do a 1031 exchange and abide by the 45-day timeline, it is going to be challenging because there is not a lot of product out there to choose from. When you compare 1031 exchanges to an UPREIT, the underlying mechanism is the same because the investor is able to defer capital gains taxes.