Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 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 September 30, 2022 and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 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 no new requests were received in 2021 or during the nine months ended September 30, 2022. Requests were generally comprised of deferrals, with payments postponed for a brief period (i.e., less than six months) and then repaid over the remaining duration of the contract.

As of September 30, 2022, the Account has not had material exposure to rent concessions, tenant defaults, or loan defaults. The duration and extent of COVID-19 over the long-term cannot be 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: As further described in Note 10—Credit Facility, the Account entered into $500.0 million of term loans in the third quarter of 2022. Additionally, as further described in Note 11—Senior Notes Payable, the Account issued $500.0 million of senior notes payable in the second quarter of 2022. Pursuant to the fair value option allowed under Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 825, Financial Instruments, the Account's management has elected to report the senior notes payable and terms loans at fair value, in accordance with the valuation policies described in Note 1—Organization and Significant Accounting Policies of the Account's 2021 Form 10-K.

In the first quarter of 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 nine months ended September 30, 2022 or the Consolidated Statement of Assets and Liabilities at September 30, 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 2021 Form 10-K.

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 March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("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.