As reported in the last issue, REITs continue to expand at a phenomenal rate. Building on their successful acquisition of NHP, AIMCO has re-entered the headlines with the very visible purchase of Insignia. With a combined owned portfolio of 126,139 units in 639 apartment communities, AIMCO is now the largest owner of multifamily projects in the country. AIMCO also manages 391,891 units in 2,163 different apartment communities around the country, making AIMCO one of the largest apartment managers in the world. Potentially concerned about being eclipsed by the daunting size of the new REITs, Security Capital has decided to merge its two apartment REITs: Security Capital Atlantic and Security Capital Pacific (PTR) (essentially east coast & west coast) into one of the largest apartment REITs with a total of 90,166 units in 19 states and 304 communities. The new REIT will be called Archstone. Look for all of the properties currently in each portfolio to carry the Archstone name (i.e. Archstone-La Paloma). Want to learn more about REITs that are active in this market? Check our web page at http://www.nmcomreal.com/nmcomreal and select REITs.