VOLUME 30, NUMBER 5
Š2014 Law Bulletin Publishing Co.
May 2014
Industrial REITs continue their strong performance Minneapolis market one of the stronger
By Dan Rafter, Editor
R
EITs are performing well these days, something that comes as no surprise to David Harker, executive vice president for the central region of First Industrial Trust. Harker says that prices for industrial properties continue to increase. At the same time, demand for modern industrial facilities is on the rise, he says. Cap
rates continue to be at record lows. In other words, it's a good time to invest in industrial real estate. And it's a particularly good time to invest in markets like Minneapolis and Chicago, ones that Harker says are particularly strong today. "The fundamentals in industrial real estate are very good," Harker said. "That is why so many investors are looking at this sector. The vacancy rates in industrial are low. I'd say the industrial vacancy rate in the Chicago market is probaREIT to page 21
Wayne Schiferl: Helping developers bring affordable housing projects to Minnesota By Dan Rafter, Editor
W
ayne Schiferl, a tax partner in the construction/real estate group of accounting firm Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP, has extensive experience in affordable housing and real estate land development. Schiferl also boasts a deep understanding of what it takes to plan for affordable-housing projects and is skilled in the use of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit to help bring more of these projects to Minnesota. Schiferl recently spoke to Minnesota Real Estate Journal from his office in Minneapolis about the help he and his fellow real estate accountants can bring to developers. Minnesota Real Estate Journal: How did you get involved in the real estate end of accounting?
Wayne Schiferl: It happened by default, as most things happen. I grew up in a real estate family. I went to school to become a CPA. After graduating, I went to Arthur Anderson where I was put on the real estate group. That was in 1988. I spent five years on the real estate group, up to 1991. That was probably, if you remember, the worst time to be in real estate. I learned all I
Schiferl
could there and moved on to a niche real estate accounting firm. It was a small firm with big clients. I spent a lot of time there structuring multi-family and Section 8 deals. I spent a lot of years learning and honing my skills there. About seven years ago, my firm merged with Baker Tilly. We have a great affordable-housing practice now. We deal with the whole lifecycle of real estate, from finding equity and debt to helping with structured transactions. We work on new-construction consulting. We help clients maximize the value of their properties. We help clients with exit strategies if they want to exit their properties. We work on refinancing opportunities for clients who want to take the cash flow out of these properties or improve the cash flow in them. From inception to exit, we handle all of the Schiferl to page 23