Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

Business: The TIAA Real Estate Account (“Account”) is an insurance separate account of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (“TIAA”) and was established by resolution of TIAA’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) on February 22, 1995, under the insurance laws of the State of New York, for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts issued by TIAA. The Account offers individual and group accumulating annuity contracts (with contributions made on a pre-tax or after-tax basis), as well as individual lifetime and term-certain variable payout annuity contracts (including the payment of death benefits to beneficiaries). Investors are entitled to transfer funds to or from the Account, and make withdrawals from the Account on a daily basis, under certain circumstances. Funds invested in the Account for each category of contract are expressed in terms of units, and unit values will fluctuate depending on the Account’s performance.

The investment objective of the Account is to seek favorable total returns primarily through the rental income and appreciation of a diversified portfolio of directly held, private real estate investments and real estate-related investments while offering investors guaranteed, daily liquidity. The Account holds real estate properties directly and through subsidiaries wholly-owned by TIAA for the sole benefit of the Account. The Account also holds limited interests in real estate joint ventures and funds, as well as investments in loans receivable with real estate properties as underlying collateral. Additionally, the Account invests in real estate-related and non-real estate-related publicly traded securities, cash and other instruments to maintain adequate liquidity levels for operating expenses, capital expenditures and to fund benefit payments (withdrawals, transfers and related transactions).

Interim Financial Information: The Consolidated Financial Statements of the Account as of March 31, 2022 and for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 are unaudited and include all adjustments necessary to present a fair statement of results for the interim periods presented. Results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire year. These Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Accordingly, certain footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted from this report pursuant to the rules of the SEC. As a result, these Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto included in the Account’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (“2021 Form 10-K”).

Basis of Presentation: The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements include the Account and those subsidiaries wholly-owned by TIAA for the benefit of the Account. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified for comparative purposes to conform to the current period financial statement presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on previously reported results of operations. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions between the Account and such subsidiaries have been eliminated.

The Accumulation Unit Value (“AUV”) used for financial reporting purposes may differ from the AUV used for processing transactions. The AUV used for financial reporting purposes includes security and participant (or "contract owner") transactions effective through the period end date to which this report relates. Total return is computed based on the AUV used for processing transactions.

Use of Estimates: The Consolidated Financial Statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires the use of estimates made by management. Actual results may vary from those estimates and such differences may be material.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (commonly known as “COVID-19”) and the subsequent global pandemic began significantly impacting the U.S. and global financial markets and economies during the first quarter of 2020. During the second and third quarters of 2020, the Account received multiple requests for rent and loan payment relief as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the requests were slowed during the fourth quarter of 2020 and reasonably estimated at this time. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent to which the

COVID-19 pandemic impacts the Account’s business, results of operations, investments, and cash flows will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and difficult to predict.

Significant Accounting Policy Updates: In the quarter ended March 31, 2022, the Account began hedging its foreign currency risk through the use of derivative instruments. The impact of this hedging activity was not material to the results of operations for the first quarter of 2022 or the Consolidated Statement of Assets and Liabilities at March 31, 2022. Other than the addition of the following accounting policy related to derivative instruments, there were no changes to the Account's significant accounting policies as described in the Account's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Foreign Currency Forwards—The Account uses foreign currency forward contracts to manage foreign currency exchange rate risk related to foreign currency-denominated investments. Foreign currency forward contracts are recorded at fair value and are reflected in Other assets or liabilities on the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities. The fair value of foreign currency forward contracts is determined using the prevailing forward exchange rate which is derived from quotes provided by an independent pricing source.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements: In July 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-05—Leases (Topic 842): Lessors—Certain Leases with Variable Lease Payments (“ASU 2021-05”). The amendments in ASU 2021-05 amend the lease classification requirements for lessors to align them with practice under Topic 840. Lessors should classify and account for a lease with variable lease payments that do not depend on a reference index or a rate as an operating lease if certain criteria are met. When a lease is classified as operating, the lessor does not recognize a net investment in the lease, does not derecognize the underlying asset, and, therefore, does not recognize a selling profit or loss. The amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, for all entities, and interim periods within those fiscal years for public business entities. Entities that have adopted Topic 842 before the issuance date of ASU 2016-05 have the option to apply the amendments either (1) retrospectively to leases that commenced or were modified on or after the adoption of Update 2016-02 or (2) prospectively to leases that commence or are modified on or after the date that an entity first applies the amendments. Management has adopted the guidance and it did not materially impact the Account.

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting (“ASU 2020-04”). The guidance provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying generally accepted accounting principles to contract modifications and hedging relationships, subject to meeting certain criteria, that reference the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") or another reference rate expected to be discontinued. The expedients and exceptions are effective for the period from March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. Management does not expect the guidance to materially impact the Account.