SL Green, Vornado Suffer

John Koblin — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:52:46 -0400

The growing fears over the credit markets are affecting everyone, but it seems that Real Estate Investment Trusts are suffering the most. There's Archstone-Smith, which announced big losses this quarter and made an announcement that the closing date of their $22 billion sale to Tishman Speyer and Lehman Brothers has changed from late August to October -- making some wonder if it will ever happen at all.

The city's two leading REITs, SL Green and Vornado, have really felt the brunt of it.

In the last six months, Vornado's stock quote dropped from $132 a share in late February to $102 today. That's also a drop from $114 in early July.

SL Green has been even more troubled. In the last six months, its stock quote has dropped from $152 in February to $111 today. That's a drop from $133 on July 24.

In a statement to The Observer, SL Green does not exactly give a ringing endorsement for the future of REITs. The statement read:

"In the long run, a company's share price is based on its success at building value. And certainly, over the past five years we've delivered superior total returns to our shareholders, reflecting the extraordinary value that has been created.

"In the short term, there are any number of factors that can affect a company's share price. We're not in a position to speculate on which of the various factors have been most responsible for driving REIT prices down this year, nor where they're going in the short term. What we at SL Green have been doing in the meantime is continuing to provide superior and sector-leading operating and financial results so far this year. And we will continue striving to maintain that momentum."

Observer » SL Green, Vornado Suffer

SL Green, Vornado Suffer