NoMax Group principal Angela Strauss may not have been wearing green yesterday for St. Paddy's Day, but the curtain made up for it. She's chair of the 2014 Spring Symposium of REISA (the Real Estate Investment Securities Association), which is being held in San Diego. The mood at the conference, which ends today, is upbeat, Angela tells us. "We're moving in a positive direction as the economy starts to upshift." About 650 people attended, nearly one-third from SoCal.

Membership today spans a number of alternative real estate investment sectors, including energy, 1031, non-traded REITs, and funds, as well as equipment leasing and non-traded business development companies. Angela says there's significant interest for all the major flavors of REITs, particularly senior care. And there's a lot of buzz at the conference about new structures coming out for DST investment, with fewer investors in a typical offering—a decision that's being driven by lenders, she says.