Aug 27, 2010 10:04 AM PDT
Having been a landlord a one time myself; I learned it is work and it became work that I didn't like. I liked the tax break at the time, but not the monthly collection or maintenance requirements like the emergency of a busting water heater or paving a driveway.
From large apartment complexes and commercial buildings to small storefronts and individual rentals, the management of properties has become a big business and I think I've found a couple of pure plays that might warrant diligence and investment. And the two are wildly different in location and scope.
There are seemingly countless Big Cap realtors that mix both selling properties with the accounting and upkeep of them. One small cap I found does exactly: sells and maintains.
CB Richard Ellis Group on the NYSE (CBG) http://www.cbre.com/ trading in the $7 is a hybrid of sales and operations and produces revenue streams from both its units.
DJ US Real Estate Services Index
I wanted to find however companies that focused solely on collection and maintenance (and to some degree collateral financial service like documentation) and I found two that I like very much.
E-House (China) Holdings Limited (EJ) http://www.ehousechina.com/ trading on the NYSE in the $12 range has a proven revenue growth rate in the last three years 63.7%. That's something.
E-House provides primary real estate agency services, secondary real estate brokerage services, real estate consulting and information services, real estate advertising services, and real estate investment fund management services.
The company provides primary real estate agency services to real estate developers of residential properties. Its secondary real estate brokerage services include offering advisory services on choices of properties, accompanying potential buyers on house viewing trips, drafting purchase contracts, negotiating price and other terms, and providing preliminary proof of title, as well as coordinating with the notary, the bank, and the title transfer agency. E-House is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China and I like the fact that they have access to the growing middle class of China and all those individuals and families who intend on staying in urban areas.
E-House has a market cap of $984M and is near the middle of its 52-week high/low. At $12 it's trading above both its 5-day and 200-day moving average. E-House has a trailing twelve month revenue of $154M with trailing twelve month revenues per share of $1.88. The Company has 79M shares out and a smaller float of 22M shares, but the difference is offset by a liquid 3-month average daily trading volume of 617K shares.
I also like Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) http://www.joneslanglasalle.com/ trading on the NYSE in the $33 range. The Company has 36,200 employees and is focused more on large developments and commercial buildings.
JLL provides integrated real estate and investment management services to owner, occupier, and investor clients worldwide. Its real estate services include agency leasing, property management, project and development management, construction management, valuations, capital markets, real estate investment banking and merchant banking, brokerage of properties, corporate finance, hotel advisory, tenant representation, facilities management/outsourcing, strategic consulting, value recovery services, and investment management services. Over the years JLL has expanded from collecting rents and providing the convenience of somebody else handling water leaking from the ceiling.
With a $1.18B market cap, JLL is closer to its 52-week low of $15.98 than its 52-week high of $71.72. At $33, it's trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving average. JLL has a trailing twelve month revenue of $2.63B and trailing twelve month revenues per share of $77.72. Its shares out and float are near-parity.
