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Strategies & Market Trends : Value Investing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Senior who wrote (3016)	1/13/1998 1:12:00 AM
From: jeffbas	Respond to of 78676

I think that your comments about the impact of the Internet on the value of retail real estate is quite interesting. It sounds to me like an adverse secular trend of unknown dimensions at this time. (I for one did do some research on items on the Internet but still bought an advertised special at the local mall.) As far as the general issue of real estate is concerned, we have had that with S&L's, banks and insurance companies in the past. A good track record did not necessarily help, e.g., Mutual Benefit Life, an old-line mutual insurance company that went bust. I think that as long term investments, the ones where the land value is highly discounted like St. Joe Paper was (or is?), or perhaps the ones you mention, give you a margin of safety.

To: Paul Senior who wrote (3016)	1/13/1998 2:27:00 PM
From: James Clarke	Respond to of 78676

As for real estate, I like to find stuff below the radar screen. The REITs are so overfollowed now that they are priced as efficiently as anything else in the market. Also I find that with REITS it is very important to know management, and that's hard for a small investor to do. I've looked at Alexander and Baldwin, and just didn't see it. I spent last weekend looking at Greif Brothers, which is kind of known as a "St. Joe-like" stock. I'd call that one fairly valued. Texas Pacific may be interesting if you know the oil business - I will be the first to admit that I don't. As for now, I still think St. Joe is the best deal in this sector and don't feel much need to look further. BTW, St. Joe split 3:1 today.