MIT to Track Real Estate.(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)(Brief article)

Cambridge, MA -- The MIT Center for Real Estate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has released a commercial real estate index that tracks the investment performance of commercial properties. According to this index, commercial real estate properties turned in a return of 34% for 2005, MIT reports.

The index uses input on transactions data provided by the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries, a body that represents firms that invest pension fund money. David Geltner, director of the MIT Center for Real Estate, said, "The index addresses the need for a 'fundamental asset class research' index of real estate investment performance and market conditions.

"It is designed to tap the capabilities of modern econometrics to distill information from property transaction prices." The index is based on transaction prices of properties sold each quarter from the property database that underlies the NCREIF Property Index. As well, it uses appraisal ...