SUMMARY RISK FACTORS

The value of your investment in the Account will fluctuate based on the value of the Account’s assets and the income the assets generate. You may lose money by investing in this Account. The Account’s assets and income can be affected by many factors, and you should consider the specific risks presented in this prospectus before investing in the Account. The principal risks include the following:

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 7

				value ratios on the Account’s properties (including the fact that the Account may have limited, or no net value in such a property), the risk that significant sums of cash could be required to make principal and interest payments on the loans and the risk that the Account may not have the ability to obtain financing or refinancing on favorable terms (or at all), which may be aggravated by general disruptions in credit and capital markets;
•				Participant Transactions and Cash Management: Investment risk associated with participant transactions, in particular that (i) significant net participant transfers out of the Account may impair our ability to pursue or consummate new investment opportunities that are otherwise attractive to the Account and/or may result in sales of real estate-related assets to generate liquidity, (ii) significant net participant transfers into the Account may result, on a temporary basis, in our cash holdings and/or holdings in liquid real estate-related investments exceeding our long-term targeted holding levels and (iii) high levels of cash in the Account during times of appreciating real estate values can impair the Account’s overall return;
•				Joint Venture Investments: The risks associated with joint venture partnerships, including the risk that a co-venturer may have interests or goals inconsistent with that of the Account, that a co-venturer may have financial difficulties, and the risk that the Account may have limited rights with respect to operation of the property and transfer of the Account’s interest;
•				Regulatory Matters: Uncertainties associated with environmental liability and regulations and other governmental regulatory matters such as zoning laws, rent control laws, and property taxes;
•				Foreign Investments: The risks associated with purchasing, owning and disposing foreign investments (primarily real estate properties), including political risk, the risk associated with currency fluctuations, regulatory and taxation risks and risks of enforcing judgments;
•				Conflicts of Interest: Conflicts of interest associated with TIAA serving as investment manager of the Account and provider of the liquidity guarantee at the same time as TIAA and its affiliates are serving as an investment manager to other real estate accounts or funds, including conflicts associated with satisfying its fiduciary duties to all such accounts and funds associated with purchasing, selling and leasing of properties;
•				Required Property Sales: The risk that, if TIAA were to own too large a percentage of the Account’s accumulation units through funding the liquidity guarantee (as determined by the independent fiduciary), the independent fiduciary could require the sales of properties to reduce TIAA’s ownership interest, which sales could occur at times and at prices that depress the sale proceeds to the Account;

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•				Government and Government Agency Securities: Risks associated with investment securities issued by U.S. government agencies and U.S. government-sponsored entities, including the risk that the issuer may not have their securities backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, and that transaction activity may fluctuate significantly from time to time, which could negatively impact the value of the securities and the Account’s ability to dispose of a security at a favorable time; and
•				Liquid Assets and Securities: Risks associated with investments in real estate-related liquid assets (which could include, from time to time, REIT securities and CMBS), and non-real estate-related liquid assets, including:

•				Financial/credit risk — Risks that the issuer will not be able to pay principal and interest when due or that the issuer’s earnings will fall;
•				Market volatility risk — Risk that the changing conditions in financial markets may cause the Account’s investments to experience price volatility;
•				Interest rate volatility risk — Risk that interest rate volatility may affect the Account’s current income from an investment or the pricing of that investment; and
•				Deposit/money market risk — Risk that the Account could experience losses if banks fail.

More detailed discussions of these risks and other risk factors associated with an investment in the Account are contained starting on page 14 of this prospectus in the section entitled “Risk Factors.”

VALUING THE ACCOUNT’S ASSETS

The assets of the Account are valued at the close of each valuation day and the Account calculates and publishes a unit value, which is available on TIAA-CREF’s website (www.tiaa-cref.org), for each valuation day. The values of the Account’s properties are adjusted daily to account for capital expenditures and appraisals as they occur.

With respect to the Account’s real property investments, following the initial purchase of a property or the making of a mortgage loan on a property by the Account (at which time the Account normally receives an independent appraisal on such property), each of the Account’s real properties are appraised, and mortgage loans are valued, at least once every calendar quarter. Each of the Account’s real estate properties is appraised each quarter by an independent external state-certified (or its foreign equivalent) appraiser (which we refer to in this prospectus as an “independent appraiser”) who is a member of a professional appraisal organization. In addition, TIAA’s internal appraisal staff performs a review of each of these quarterly appraisals, in conjunction with the Account’s independent fiduciary, and TIAA’s internal appraisal staff or the independent fiduciary may request an additional appraisal or valuation outside of this quarterly cycle. Any differences in the conclusions of TIAA’s internal appraisal staff and the independent appraiser will be reviewed by the independent fiduciary, which will make a final

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 9

determination on the matter (which may include ordering a subsequent independent appraisal).

In general, the Account obtains appraisals of its real estate properties spread out throughout the quarter, which is intended to result in appraisal adjustments and thus adjustments to the valuations of its holdings (to the extent adjustments are made) that happen regularly throughout each quarter and not on one specific day in each period. In addition, an estimated daily equivalent of net operating income is taken into consideration and is adjusted for actual transactional activity. The remaining assets in the Account are primarily marketable securities that are priced on a daily basis and are included in the Account’s daily unit value.

As of December 31, 2012, the Account’s net assets totaled approximately $14.9 billion. See “Valuing the Account’s Assets” on page 58 for more information on how each class of the Account’s investments are valued.

PAST PERFORMANCE

The bar chart and performance table below illustrate how investment performance during the accumulation period has varied. The chart shows the Account’s total return (which includes all expenses) during the accumulation period over each of the last ten calendar years. It also shows the Account’s returns during the accumulation period for the one-, three-, five- and ten-year periods through December 31, 2012. These returns represent the total return during each such year and reflect both the Account’s investment income and capital appreciation from the Account’s total investments during each such year. How the Account has performed in the past is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. Please see “Risk Factors” beginning on page 14.

Best quarter: 5.68%, for the quarter ended December 31, 2010.
Worst quarter:–13.18%, for the quarter ended December 31, 2008.

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2012)

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ABOUT TIAA AND TIAA’S ROLE WITH THE ACCOUNT

TIAA is the companion organization of the College Retirement Equities Fund (“CREF”), the first company in the United States to issue a variable annuity. CREF is a nonprofit membership corporation established in New York State in 1952. Together, TIAA and CREF, serving approximately 3.8 million people and approximately 15,000 institutions as of December 31, 2012, form the principal retirement system for the nation’s education and research communities and form one of the largest pension systems in the U.S., based on assets under management. As of December 31, 2012, TIAA’s total statutory admitted assets were approximately $237 billion; the combined assets under management for TIAA, CREF and other entities within the TIAA-CREF organization (including TIAA-sponsored mutual funds) totaled approximately $502 billion. CREF does not stand behind TIAA’s guarantees and TIAA does not guarantee CREF products.

The Account does not have officers, directors or employees. TIAA employees, under the direction and control of TIAA’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and its Investment Committee, manage the investment of the Account’s assets, following investment management procedures TIAA has adopted for the Account. In addition, TIAA performs administration functions for the Account (which include receiving and allocating premiums, calculating and making annuity payments and providing recordkeeping and other services). Distribution services for the Account (which include, without limitation, distribution of the annuity contracts, advising existing annuity contract owners in connection with their accumulations and helping employers implement and manage retirement plans) are performed by Services. TIAA and Services provide investment management, administration and distribution services, as applicable, on an “at-cost” basis.

With its 65 years in the real estate business and interests in properties located across the U.S. and internationally, TIAA is one of the nation’s largest and most experienced investors in mortgages and real estate equity interests. As of December 31, 2012, the TIAA General Account had a mortgage and real property portfolio (including interests in TIAA subsidiaries that hold real estate, real estate funds and joint ventures but excluding Real Estate Account units owned by TIAA, mortgage-backed securities and REIT securities) valued at approximately $22.0 billion.

Liquidity Guarantee. In the event that the Account’s level of liquidity is not sufficient to guarantee that Account participants may redeem their accumulation units (at their accumulation unit value as of the date of such redemption request received in good order), the TIAA General Account will purchase accumulation units issued by the Account (sometimes called “liquidity units”) in accordance with its liquidity guarantee. The cost of this guarantee is embedded in the overall expense charge of the Account. This liquidity guarantee is not a guarantee of either investment performance or the value of units in the Account.

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This liquidity guarantee was first exercised in December 2008 and, as of the date of this prospectus, has not been exercised since June 2009. As of December 31, 2012, TIAA owns 1.2 million liquidity units, representing approximately 2.2% of the Account’s outstanding accumulation units as of such date. The Account’s independent fiduciary is vested with oversight of the liquidity guarantee, including overseeing the timing of any redemption of liquidity units held by TIAA.

The independent fiduciary is currently in the process of conducting a systematic redemption of all of the liquidity units held by the TIAA General Account. Approximately one-quarter of such units were redeemed evenly over the business days in each of June, September and December 2012, representing a total of $940.3 million redeemed during 2012. The independent fiduciary’s redemption of the remaining liquidity units held by TIAA is conditioned on (i) the Account holding and being projected to hold at least 17% of its net assets in cash, cash equivalents and publicly traded, liquid non-real estate related securities, after taking into account certain projected sources and uses of cash flow into the Account, and (ii) there having been positive recent historical net participant flows over the 20 business days prior to such redemption. As of the date of this filing, the independent fiduciary intends to cause the redemption of the remaining liquidity units held by TIAA throughout the remaining days in March 2013, such that all such liquidity units would be redeemed by the end of the month. There is no guarantee that such redemptions will occur, as the timing of redemptions is in the discretion of the independent fiduciary. In addition, at any time the Account holds cash, cash equivalents and publicly traded, liquid non-real estate related securities in excess of 25% of its net assets, the independent fiduciary intends to cause a redemption of liquidity units in an amount equal to the Account’s average net participant flows during the preceding month. The independent fiduciary reserves the right to authorize or direct the redemption of all or a portion of liquidity units at any time. See “Establishing and Managing the Account — The Role of TIAA — Liquidity Guarantee” on page 46 and “— Role of the Independent Fiduciary” on page 48.

THE CONTRACTS

TIAA offers the Account as a variable option for the annuity contracts listed on the cover page of this prospectus, although some employer plans may not offer the Account as an option for certain contracts. Each payment to the Account buys a number of accumulation units. Similarly, any transfer or withdrawal from the Account results in the redemption of a number of accumulation units. The price you pay for an accumulation unit, and the price you receive for an accumulation unit when you redeem accumulation units, is the accumulation unit value (which we sometimes call the “AUV”) calculated for the business day on which we receive your purchase, redemption or transfer request in good order (unless you ask for a later date for a redemption or transfer).

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The Right to Cancel Your Contract. Generally, you may cancel any RA, SRA, GSRA, Classic IRA, Roth IRA, ATRA or Keogh contract in accordance with the contract’s Right to Examine provision (unless we have begun making annuity payments from it) and subject to the time period regulated by the state in which the contract is issued. Although the contract terms and state law provisions differ, you will generally have between 10 and 60 days to exercise this cancellation right.

Transfers and Withdrawals. Subject to the terms of the contracts and your employer’s plan, you can move your money to and from the Account in the following ways:

Importantly, transfers out of the Account to a TIAA or CREF account or into another investment option can be executed on any business day but are limited to once per calendar quarter, although some plans may allow systematic transfers that result in more than one transfer per calendar quarter. Other limited exceptions may apply. Also, transfers to CREF accounts or to certain other options may be restricted by your employer’s plan, current tax law or by the terms of your contract.

In addition, individual participants are limited from making internal funding vehicle transfers into their Account accumulation if, after giving effect to such transfer, the total value of such participant’s Account accumulation (under all contracts issued to such participant) would exceed $150,000. Categories of transactions that TIAA deems “internal funding vehicle transfers” for purposes of this limitation are described in detail on pages 130-131. As of the date of this prospectus, all jurisdictions in which the Account is offered have approved this limitation, but the effective date of the limitation as applies to an individual participant will be reflected on his or her applicable contract or endorsement form. Please see “How to Transfer and Withdraw Your Money” beginning on page 124.

By limiting these transfers to the Real Estate Account, as anticipated, the amount of funds going into and out of the Account has become more predictable, which we believe will continue to enhance our ability to invest and manage the Real Estate Account’s portfolio with a long-term perspective. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of the Account’s Financial Condition

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and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources” on page 97 for a discussion of participant flow activity.

The Annuity Period. Your income payments may be paid out of the Account through a variety of income options. Ordinarily, your annuity payments begin on the date you designate as your annuity starting date, subject to the terms of your employer’s plan. Your initial income payments are based on the value of your accumulation on the last valuation day before the annuity starting date and annuity payments can change after the initial payment based on the Account’s investment experience, the income option you choose and the income change method you choose. Important tax considerations may also apply. See “Receiving Annuity Income” beginning on page 131.

Death Benefits. Subject to the terms of your employer’s plan, TIAA may pay death benefits if you or your annuity partner dies. When you purchase your annuity contract, you name one or more beneficiaries to receive the death benefit if you die. You can change your beneficiaries any time before you die, and, unless you instruct otherwise, your annuity partner can do the same after your death. Your choice of beneficiary for death benefits may, in some cases, be subject to the consent of your spouse and federal and state law may impose additional restrictions. If you die during the accumulation period, the death benefit is the amount of your accumulation. If you and your annuity partner die during the annuity period while payments are still due under a fixed-period annuity or for the remainder of a guaranteed period, the death benefit is the present value, based on interest at the effective annual rate of 4%, of the unit annuity payments due for the remainder of the period. Death benefits may be paid out during the accumulation period (currently under one of five available methods) or during the annuity period. Ordinarily, death benefits are subject to federal estate tax. Generally, if taken as a lump sum, death benefits would be taxed like complete withdrawals. If taken as annuity benefits, death benefits would be taxed like annuity payments. See “Death Benefits” on page 136.

RISK FACTORS

The value of your investment in the Account will fluctuate based on the value of the Account’s assets, the income the assets generate and the Account’s expenses. Participants can lose money by investing in the Account. There is risk associated with an investor attempting to “time” an investment in the Account’s units, or effecting a redemption of an investor’s units. The Account’s assets and income can be affected by many factors, and you should consider the specific risks presented below before investing in the Account. In particular, for a discussion of how forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are subject to uncertainties that are difficult to predict, which may be beyond management’s control and which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience or management’s present expectations, please refer to the subsection entitled “Forward-Looking Statements,” which is

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contained in the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of the Account’s Financial Condition and Results of Operations” on page 70.

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH REAL ESTATE INVESTING

General Risks of Acquiring and Owning Real Property: As referenced elsewhere in this prospectus, the substantial majority of the Account’s net assets are comprised of direct ownership interests in real estate. As such, the Account is particularly subject to the risks inherent in acquiring and owning real property, including in particular the following:

The incidence of some or all of these factors could reduce occupancy, rental rates and the fair value of the Account’s real properties or interests in investment vehicles (such as limited partnerships) which directly hold real properties.

Also, the Account may experience periods in which its tenant base is concentrated within a particular industry sector. For example, the Account owns and operates a number of industrial properties, which typically feature larger tenant concentration. The insolvency and/or

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 15

closing of a single tenant in one of our industrial properties may significantly impair the income generated by an industrial property, and may also depress the value of such property.

In addition, the Account owns and operates a number of properties in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and a prolonged period of significantly diminished federal expenditures could have an adverse impact on demand for office space by the U.S. government and the sectors and industries dependent upon the U.S. government in such region or other regions where the government or such related businesses are large lessees.

If any or all of these events occur, the Account’s income and performance may be adversely impacted disproportionately by deteriorating economic conditions in those areas or industry sectors in which the Account’s investments are concentrated. Also, the Account could experience a more rapid negative change in the value of its real estate investments than would be the case if its real estate investments were more diversified.

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•				In some instances, our properties may be specifically suited to and/or outfitted for the particular needs of a certain tenant based on the type of business the tenant operates. For example, many companies desire space with an open floor plan. We may have difficulty obtaining a new tenant for any vacant space in our properties, particularly if the floor plan limits the types of businesses that can use the space without major renovation, which may require us to incur substantial expense in re-planning the space. Also, upon expiration of a lease, the space preferences of our major tenants may no longer align with the space they previously rented, which could cause those tenants to not renew their lease, or may require us to expend significant sums to reconfigure the space to their needs.
•				The Account owns and operates retail properties, which, in addition to the risks listed above, are subject to specific risks, including the insolvency and/or closing of an anchor tenant. Many times, anchor tenants will be “big box” stores and other large retailers that can be particularly adversely impacted by a global recession and reduced consumer spending generally. Factors that can impact the level of consumer spending include increases in fuel and energy costs, residential and commercial real estate and mortgage conditions, labor and healthcare costs, access to credit, consumer confidence and other macroeconomic factors. Under certain circumstances, co-tenancy clauses in tenants’ leases may allow certain tenants in a retail property to terminate their leases or reduce or withhold rental payments when overall occupancy at the property falls below certain minimum levels. The insolvency and/or closing of an anchor tenant may also cause such tenants to terminate their leases, or to fail to renew their leases at expiration.

•				Competition. The Account may face competition for real estate investments from multiple sources, including individuals, corporations, insurance companies or other insurance company separate accounts, as well as real estate limited partnerships, real estate investment funds, commercial developers, pension plans, other institutional and foreign investors and other entities engaged in real estate investment activities. Some of these competitors may have similar financial and other resources as the Account, and/or they may have investment strategies and policies (including the ability to incur significantly more leverage than the Account) that allow them to compete more aggressively for real estate investment opportunities, which could result in the Account paying higher prices for investments, experiencing delays in acquiring investments or failing to consummate such purchases. Any resulting delays in the acquisition of investments, or the failure to consummate acquisitions the Account deems desirable, may increase the Account’s costs or otherwise adversely affect the Account’s investment results.
				In addition, the Account’s properties may be located close to properties that are owned by other real estate investors and that compete with the Account for tenants. These competing properties may be better located,

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 17

				more suitable for tenants than our properties or have owners who may compete more aggressively for tenants, resulting in a competitive advantage for these other properties. We may also face similar competition from other properties that may be developed in the future. This competition may limit the Account’s ability to lease space, increase its costs of securing tenants, limit our ability to maximize our rents and/or require the Account to make capital improvements it otherwise would not, in order to make its properties more attractive to prospective tenants.
•				Operating Costs. A property’s cash flow could decrease if operating costs, such as property taxes, utilities, litigation expenses associated with a property, maintenance and insurance costs that are not reimbursed by tenants increase in relation to gross rental income, or if the property needs unanticipated repairs and renovations. In addition, our expenses of owning and operating a property are not necessarily reduced when our income from a property is reduced.
•				Condemnation. A governmental agency may condemn and convert for a public use ( i.e. , through eminent domain) all or a portion of a property owned by the Account. While the Account would receive compensation in connection with any such condemnation, such compensation may not be in an amount the Account believes represents equivalent value for the condemned property. Further, a partial condemnation could impair the ability of the Account to maximize the value of the property during its operation, including making it more difficult to find new tenants or retain existing tenants. Finally, a property which has been subject to a partial condemnation may be more difficult to sell at a price the Account believes is appropriate.
•				Terrorism and Acts of War and Violence. Terrorist attacks may harm our property investments. The Account cannot assure you that there will not be further terrorist attacks against the United States or U.S. businesses or elsewhere in the world. These attacks or armed conflicts may directly or indirectly impact the value of the property we own or that secure our loans. Losses resulting from these types of events may be uninsurable or not insurable to the full extent of the loss suffered. Moreover, any of these events could cause consumer confidence and spending to decrease or result in increased volatility in the United States and worldwide financial markets and economy. Such events could also result in economic uncertainty in the United States or abroad. Adverse economic conditions resulting from terrorist activities could reduce demand for space in the Account’s properties and thereby reduce the value of the Account’s properties and therefore your investment return.

General Risks of Selling Real Estate Investments: Among the risks of selling real estate investments are:

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•				The Account might not be able to sell a property at a particular time for a price which management believes represents its fair or full value. This illiquidity may result from the cyclical nature of real estate, general economic conditions impacting the location of the property, disruption in the credit markets or the availability of financing on favorable terms or at all, and the supply of and demand for available tenant space, among other reasons. This might make it difficult to raise cash quickly which could impair the Account’s liquidity position (particularly during any period of sustained significant net participant outflows) and also could lead to Account losses. Further, the liquidity guarantee does not serve as a working capital facility or credit line to enhance the Account’s liquidity levels generally, as its purpose is tied to participants having the ability to redeem their accumulation units upon demand (thus, alleviating the Account’s need to dispose of properties solely to increase liquidity levels in what management deems a suboptimal sales environment).
•				The Account may need to provide financing to a purchaser if no cash buyers are available, or if buyers are unable to receive financing on terms enabling them to consummate the purchase. Such seller financing introduces a risk that the counterparty may not perform its obligations to repay the amounts borrowed from the Account to complete the purchase.
•				For any particular property, the Account may be required to make expenditures for improvements to, or to correct defects in, the property before the Account is able to market and/or sell the property.
•				Interests in real estate limited partnerships tend to be in particular illiquid, and the Account may be unable to dispose of such investments at opportune times.

Valuation and Appraisal Risks: Investments in the Account’s assets are stated at fair value, which is defined as the price that would be received to sell the asset in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Determination of fair value, particularly for real estate assets, involves significant judgment. Valuation of the Account’s real estate properties (which comprise a substantial majority of the Account’s net assets) are based on real estate appraisals, which are estimates of property values based on a professional’s opinion and may not be accurate predictors of the amount the Account would actually receive if it sold a property. Appraisals can be subjective in certain respects and rely on a variety of assumptions and conditions at that property or in the market in which the property is located, which may change materially after the appraisal is conducted. Among other things, market prices for comparable real estate may be volatile, in particular if there has been a lack of recent transaction activity in such market. Recent disruptions in the macroeconomy, real estate markets and the credit markets have led to a significant decline in transaction activity in most markets and sectors and the lack of observable transaction data may have made it more difficult for an appraisal to determine the fair value of the Account’s real estate. In addition, a portion of the data used by appraisers is based on

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 19

historical information at the time the appraisal is conducted, and subsequent changes to such data, after an appraiser has used such data in connection with the appraisal, may not be adequately captured in the appraised value. Also, to the extent that the Account uses a relatively small number of independent appraisers to value a significant portion of its properties, valuations may be subject to any institutional biases of such appraisers and their valuation procedures.

Further, as the Account generally obtains appraisals on a quarterly basis, there may be circumstances in the period between appraisals or interim valuation adjustments in which the true realizable value of a property is not reflected in the Account’s daily net asset value calculation or in the Account’s periodic consolidated financial statements. This disparity may be more apparent when the commercial and/or residential real estate markets experience an overall and possibly dramatic decline (or increase) in property values in a relatively short period of time between appraisals.

If the appraised values of the Account’s properties as a whole are too high, those participants who purchased accumulation units prior to (i) a downward valuation adjustment of a property or multiple properties or (ii) a property or properties being sold for a lower price than the appraised value will be credited with less of an interest than if the value had previously been adjusted downward. Also, those participants who redeem during any such period will have received more than their pro rata share of the value of the Account’s assets, to the detriment of other non-redeeming participants. In particular, appraised property values may prove to be too high (as a whole) in a rapidly declining commercial real estate market. Further, implicit in the Account’s definition of fair value is a principal assumption that there will be a reasonable time to market a given property and that the property will be exchanged between a willing buyer and willing seller in a non-distressed scenario. However, an appraised value may not reflect the actual realizable value that would be obtained in a rush sale where time was of the essence. Also, appraised values may lag actual realizable values to the extent there is significant and rapid economic deterioration in a particular geographic market or a particular sector within a geographic market.

If the appraised values of the Account’s properties as a whole are too low, those participants who redeem prior to (i) an upward valuation adjustment of a property or multiple properties or (ii) a property or properties being sold for a higher price than the appraised value will have received less than their pro rata share of the value of the Account’s assets, and those participants who purchase units during any such period will be credited with more than their pro rata share of the value of the Account’s assets.

Finally, the Account recognizes items of income (such as net operating income from real estate investments, distributions from real estate limited partnerships or joint ventures, or dividends from REIT stocks) and expense in many cases on an intermittent basis, where the Account cannot predict with certainty the magnitude or the timing of such item. As such, even as the

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Account estimates items of net operating income on a daily basis, the AUV for the Account may fluctuate, perhaps significantly, from day to day, as a result of adjusting these estimates for the actual recognized item of income or expense.

Investment Risk Associated with Participant Transactions: The amount we have available to invest in new properties and other real estate-related assets will depend, in large part, on the level of net participant transfers into or out of the Account as well as participant premiums into the Account. As noted elsewhere in this prospectus, the Account intends to hold between 15% and 25% of its net assets in investments other than real estate and real estate-related investments, comprised of publicly traded, liquid investments. These liquid assets are intended to be available to purchase real estate-related investments in accordance with the Account’s investment objective and strategy and are also available to meet participant redemption requests and the Account’s expense needs (including, from time to time, obligations on debt). Significant participant transaction activity into or out of the Account’s units is generally not predictable, and wide fluctuations can occur as a result of macroeconomic or geopolitical conditions, the performance of equities or fixed income securities or general investor sentiment, regardless of the historical performance of the Account or of the performance of the real estate asset class generally.

In the second half of 2008 and in 2009, the Account experienced significant net participant transfers out of the Account, eventually causing the Account’s liquid assets to comprise less than 10% of the Account’s assets (on a net and total basis) throughout all of 2009 and into early 2010. Due in large part to this activity, the TIAA liquidity guarantee was initially exercised in December 2008. See “Establishing and Managing the Account—The Role of TIAA—Liquidity Guarantee” on page 46. Among other things, this continued shortfall in the amount of liquid assets impaired management’s ability to consummate new transactions. If a significant amount of net participant transfers out of the Account were to recur, particularly in high volumes similar to those experienced in late 2008 and 2009, we may not have enough available liquid assets to pursue, or consummate, new investment opportunities presented to us that are otherwise attractive to the Account. This, in turn, could harm the Account’s returns. Even though net transfers out of the Account ceased in early 2010 and, as of the date of this prospectus, the Account has been in a net inflow position since such time, there is no guarantee that redemption activity will not increase again, perhaps in a significant and rapid manner.

Alternatively, periods of significant net transfer activity into the Account can result in the Account holding a higher percentage of its net assets in publicly traded liquid non-real estate-related investments than the Account’s managers would target to hold under the Account’s long-term strategy. As of December 31, 2012, the Account’s non-real estate-related liquid assets comprised 17.4% of its net assets. At times, the portion of the Account’s net assets invested in these types of liquid instruments may exceed 25%,

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particularly if the Account receives a large inflow of money in a short period of time, coupled with a lack of attractive real estate-related investments on the market. Also, large inflows from participant transactions often occur in times of appreciating real estate values and pricing, which can render it challenging to execute on some transactions at ideal prices.

In an appreciating real estate market generally, this large percentage of assets held in liquid investments and not in real estate and real estate-related investments may impair the Account’s overall returns. This scenario may be exacerbated in a low interest rate environment for U.S. Treasury securities and related highly liquid securities, such as has existed since 2009 and which may persist in the future. In addition, to manage cash flow, the Account may temporarily hold a higher percentage of its net assets in liquid real estate-related securities, such as REIT and CMBS securities, than its long-term targeted holdings in such securities, particularly during and immediately following times of significant net transfer activity into the Account. Such holdings could increase the volatility of the Account’s returns.

Risks of Borrowing: The Account acquires some of its properties subject to existing financing and from time to time borrows new funds at the time of purchase. Also, the Account may from time to time place new leverage on, increase the leverage already placed on, or refinance maturing debt on, existing properties the Account owns. Under the Account’s current investment guidelines, the Account intends to maintain its loan to value ratio at or below 30% (measured at the time of incurrence and after giving effect thereto). As of December 31, 2012, the Account’s loan to value ratio was approximately 21.0%. Also, the Account may borrow up to 70% of the then-current value of a particular property. Non-construction mortgage loans on a property will be non-recourse to the Account.

Among the risks of borrowing money or otherwise investing in a property subject to a mortgage are:

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				economic slowdown following the banking crisis of 2008, and the ongoing sovereign debt and banking difficulties recently experienced in parts of the Eurozone, could affect the Account’s ability to secure financing. These difficulties include tighter lending standards instituted by banks and financial institutions, the reduced availability of credit facilities and project finance facilities from banks and the fall of consumer and/or business confidence.
•				Default Risk. The property or group of encumbered properties may not generate sufficient cash flow to support the debt service on the loan, the property may fail to meet certain financial or operating covenants contained in the loan documents and/or the property may have negative equity ( i.e. , the loan balance exceeds the value of the property) or inadequate equity. In any of these circumstances, we may default on the loan, including due to the failure to make required debt service payments when due. If a loan is in default, the Account may determine that it is not economically desirable and/or in the best interests of the Account to continue to make payments on the loan (including accessing other sources of funds to support debt service on the loan), and/or the Account may not be able to otherwise remedy such default on commercially reasonable terms or at all. In either case, the lender then could accelerate the outstanding amount due on the loan and/or foreclose on the underlying property, in which case the Account could lose the value of its investment in the foreclosed property. Further, any such default or acceleration could trigger a default under loan agreements in respect of other Account properties pledged as security for the defaulted loan or other loans. Finally, any such default could increase the Account’s borrowing costs, or result in less favorable terms, with respect to financing future properties.
•				Balloon Maturities. If the Account obtains a mortgage loan that involves a balloon payment, there is a risk that the Account may not be able to make the lump sum principal payment due under the loan at the end of the loan term, or otherwise obtain adequate refinancing on terms commercially acceptable to the Account or at all. The Account then may be forced to sell the property or other properties under unfavorable market conditions, restructure the loan on terms not advantageous to the Account, or default on its mortgage, resulting in the lender exercising its remedies, which may include repossession of the property, and the Account could lose the value of its investment in that property.
•				Variable Interest Rate Risk. If the Account obtains variable-rate loans, the Account’s returns may be volatile when interest rates are volatile. Further, to the extent that the Account takes out fixed-rate loans and interest rates subsequently decline, this may cause the Account to pay interest at above-market rates for a significant period of time. Any hedging activities the Account engages in to mitigate this risk may not fully protect the Account from the impact of interest rate volatility.

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•				Variable Rate Demand Obligation (VRDO) Risk. To the extent the Account obtains financing pursuant to a variable rate demand obligation subject to periodic remarketing or similar mechanisms, the Account or the joint ventures in which it invests could face higher borrowing costs if the remarketing results in a higher prevailing interest rate. In addition, the terms of such variable rate obligations may allow the remarketing agent to cause the Account or venture to repay the loan on demand in the event insufficient market demand for such loans is present. In particular, RGM 42, LLC, a joint venture in which the Account holds a 70% interest, is the borrower under a VRDO loan program, as described in more detail in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of the Account’s Financial Condition and Results of Operations” on page 70.
•				Valuation Risk. The market valuation of mortgage loans payable could have an adverse impact on the Account’s performance. Valuations of mortgage loans payable are generally based on the amount at which the liability could be transferred in a current transaction, exclusive of transaction costs, and such valuations are subject to a number of assumptions and factors with respect to the loan and the underlying property, a change in any of which could cause the value of a mortgage loan to fluctuate.

A general disruption in the credit markets, such as the disruption experienced in 2008 and 2009, may aggravate some or all of these risks.

Risks of Joint Ownership: Investing in joint venture partnerships or other forms of joint property ownership may involve special risks, many of which are exacerbated when the consent of parties other than the Account is required to take action.

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•				The co-venturer may be unable to fulfill its obligations (such as to fund its pro rata share of committed capital, expenditures or guarantee obligations of the venture) during the term of such agreement or may become insolvent or bankrupt, any of which could expose the Account to greater liabilities than expected and frustrate the investment objective of the venture.
•				If a co-venturer doesn’t follow the Account’s instructions or adhere to the Account’s policies, the jointly owned properties, and consequently the Account, might be exposed to greater liabilities than expected.
•				The Account may have limited rights with respect to the underlying property pursuant to the terms of the joint venture, including the right to operate, manage or dispose of a property, and a co-venturer could have approval rights over the marketing or the ultimate sale of the underlying property.
•				The terms of the Account’s ventures often provide for complicated agreements which can impede our ability to direct the sale of the property owned by the venture at times the Account views most favorable. One such agreement is a “buy-sell” right, which may force us to make a decision (either to buy our co- venturer’s interest or sell our interest to our co-venturer) at inopportune times.
•				A co-venturer can make it harder for the Account to transfer its equity interest in the venture to a third party, which could adversely impact the valuation of the Account’s interest in the venture.
•				To the extent the Account serves as the general partner or managing member in a venture, it may owe certain contractual or other duties to the co-venturer, including fiduciary duties, which may present perceived or actual conflicts of interest in the management of the underlying assets. Such an arrangement could also subject the Account to liability to third parties in the performance of its duties as a general partner or managing member.

Risks of Developing or Redeveloping Real Estate or Buying Recently Constructed Properties: If the Account chooses to develop or redevelop a property or buys a recently constructed property, it may face the following risks:

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 25

properties in the future and to continue to grow and expand our relationships with our lenders, venture partners and tenants.

•				Because external factors may have changed from when the project was originally conceived ( e.g. , slower growth in the local economy, higher interest rates, overbuilding in the area or changes in the regulatory and permitting environment), the property may not attract tenants on the schedule we originally planned and/ or may not operate at the income and expense levels first projected.

Risks with Purchase-Leaseback Transactions: To the extent the Account invested in a purchase-leaseback transaction, the major risk is that the third party lessee will be unable to make required payments to the Account. If the leaseback interest is subordinate to other interests in the real property, such as a first mortgage or other lien, the risk to the Account increases because the lessee may have to pay the senior lienholder to prevent foreclosure before it pays the Account. If the lessee defaults or the leaseback is terminated prematurely, the Account might not recover its investment unless the property is sold or leased on favorable terms.

Regulatory Risks: Government regulation at the federal, state and local levels, including, without limitation, zoning laws, rent control or rent stabilization laws, laws regulating housing on the Account’s multifamily residential properties, the Americans with Disabilities Act, property taxes and fiscal, accounting, environmental or other government policies, could operate or change in a way that adversely affects the Account and its properties. For example, these regulations could raise the cost of acquiring, owning, improving or maintaining properties, present barriers to otherwise desirable investment opportunities or make it harder to sell, rent, finance, or refinance properties either on economically desirable terms, or at all, due to the increased costs associated with regulatory compliance.

Environmental Risks: The Account may be liable for damage to the environment or injury to individuals caused by hazardous substances used or found on its properties. Under various environmental regulations, the Account may also be liable, as a current or previous property owner or mortgagee, for the cost of removing or cleaning up hazardous substances found on a property, even if it did not know of and wasn’t responsible for the hazardous substances. If any hazardous substances are present or the Account does not properly clean up any hazardous substances, or if the Account fails to comply with regulations requiring it to actively monitor the business activities on its premises, the Account may have difficulty selling or renting a property or be liable for monetary penalties. Further, environmental laws may impose restrictions on the manner in which a property may be used, the tenants which may be allowed, or the manner in which businesses may be operated, which may require the Account to expend funds. These laws may also cause the most ideal use of the property to differ from that originally contemplated and as a result could impair the Account’s returns. The cost of any required cleanup relating to a single real estate investment (including remediating contaminated

26 Prospectus ¡ TIAA Real Estate Account

property) and the Account’s potential liability for environmental damage, including paying personal injury claims and performing under indemnification obligations to third parties, could exceed the value of the Account’s investment in a property, the property’s value, or in an extreme case, a significant portion of the Account’s assets. Finally, while we may from time to time acquire third-party insurance related to environmental risks, such insurance coverage may be inadequate to cover the full cost of any loss and would cause us to be reliant on the financial health of our third-party insurer at the time any such claim is submitted.

Uninsurable Losses: Certain catastrophic losses ( e.g. , from earthquakes, wars, terrorist acts, nuclear accidents, hurricanes, wind, floods or environmental or industrial hazards or accidents) may be uninsurable or so expensive to insure against that it is economically disadvantageous to buy insurance for them. Further, the terms and conditions of the insurance coverage the Account has on its properties, in conjunction with the type of loss actually suffered at a property, may subject the property, or the Account as a whole, to a cap on insurance proceeds that is less than the loss or losses suffered. If a disaster that we have not insured against occurs, if the insurance contains a high deductible, and/or if the aggregate insurance proceeds for a particular type of casualty are capped, the Account could lose some of its original investment and any future profits from the property. Also, the Account may not have sufficient access to internal or external sources of funding to repair or reconstruct a damaged property to the extent insurance proceeds do not cover the full loss. In addition, some leases may permit a tenant to terminate its obligations in certain situations, regardless of whether those events are fully covered by insurance. In that case, the Account would not receive rental income from the property while that tenant’s space is vacant, and any such vacancy might impact the value of that property. Finally, as with respect to all third-party insurance, we are reliant on the continued financial health of such insurers and their ability to pay on valid claims. If the financial health of an insurer were to deteriorate quickly, we may not be able to find adequate coverage from another carrier on favorable terms, which could adversely impact the Account’s returns.

RISKS OF INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST SECURITIES

The Account invests in REIT securities for diversification, liquidity management and other purposes. The Account’s investment in REITs may also increase, as a percentage of net assets, during periods in which the Account is experiencing large net inflow activity, in particular due to net participant transfers into the Account. As of December 31, 2012, REIT securities comprised approximately 9.0% of the Account’s net assets. Investments in REIT securities are part of the Account’s real estate-related investment strategy and are subject to many of the same general risks associated with direct real property ownership. In particular, equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying properties owned by the entity, while

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 27

mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of any credit extended. In addition to these risks, because REIT investments are securities and generally publicly traded, they may be exposed to market risk and potentially significant price volatility due to changing conditions in the financial markets and, in particular, changes in overall interest rates, regardless of the value of the underlying real estate such REIT may own. Also, sales of REIT securities by the Account for liquidity management purposes may occur at times when values of such securities have declined and it is otherwise an inopportune time to sell the security. Volatility in REITs can cause significant fluctuations in the Account’s AUV on a daily basis, as they are correlated to equity markets which have experienced significant day to day fluctuations over the past few years.

REITs do not pay federal income taxes if they distribute most of their earnings to their shareholders and meet other tax requirements. Many of the requirements to qualify as a REIT, however, are highly technical and complex. Failure to qualify as a REIT results in tax consequences, as well as disqualification from operating as a REIT for a period of time. Consequently, if we invest in a REIT security that later fails to qualify as a REIT, this may adversely affect the performance of our investment.

RISKS OF MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES

The Account from time to time has invested in mortgage-backed securities and may in the future invest in such securities. Mortgage-backed securities, such as CMBS, are subject to many of the same general risks inherent in real estate investing, making mortgage loans and investing in debt securities. The underlying mortgage loans may experience defaults with greater frequency than projected when such mortgages were underwritten, which would impact the values of these securities, and could hamper our ability to sell such securities. In particular, these types of investments may be subject to prepayment risk or extension risk ( i.e. , the risk that borrowers will repay the loans earlier or later than anticipated). If the underlying mortgage assets experience faster than anticipated prepayments of principal, the Account could fail to recoup some or all of its initial investment in these securities, since the original price paid by the Account was based in part on assumptions regarding the receipt of interest payments. If the underlying mortgage assets are repaid later than anticipated, the Account could lose the opportunity to reinvest the anticipated cash flows at a time when interest rates might be rising. The rate of prepayments depends on a variety of geographic, social and other functions, including prevailing market interest rates and general economic factors. Further, it is possible that the U.S. Government may change its support of, and policies regarding, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and, thus, the Account may be unable to acquire agency mortgage-backed securities in the future and even if the Account so acquired them, such changes may result in a negative effect on the pricing of such securities. Other policy changes impacting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and/or U.S. Government programs related to mortgages that may be implemented in the future could create market uncertainty and affect

28 Prospectus ¡ TIAA Real Estate Account

the actual or perceived credit quality of issued securities, adversely affecting mortgage-backed securities through an increased risk of loss.

Importantly, the market value of these securities is also highly sensitive to changes in interest rates, liquidity of the secondary market and economic conditions impacting financial institutions and the credit markets generally. Note that the potential for appreciation, which could otherwise be expected to result from a decline in interest rates, may be limited by any increased prepayments. Further, volatility and disruption in the mortgage market and credit markets generally (such as was the case in 2008 and 2009) may cause there to be a very limited or even no secondary market for these securities and they therefore may be harder to sell than other securities.

RISKS OF U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCY SECURITIES AND CORPORATE OBLIGATIONS

The Account invests in securities issued by U.S. government agencies and U.S. government-sponsored entities. Some of these issuers may not have their securities backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, which could adversely affect the pricing and value of such securities. Also, the Account may invest in corporate obligations (such as commercial paper) and while the Account seeks out such holdings in short-term, higher-quality liquid instruments, the ability of the Account to sell these securities may be uncertain, particularly when there are general dislocations in the finance or credit markets. Any such volatility could have a negative impact on the value of these securities. Further, transaction activity generally may fluctuate significantly from time to time, which could impair the Account’s ability to dispose of a security at a favorable time, regardless of the credit quality of the underlying issuer. Also, inherent with investing in any corporate obligation is the risk that the credit quality of the issuer will deteriorate, which could cause the obligations to be downgraded and hamper the value or the liquidity of these securities. Finally, continued downgrades or threatened downgrades of the credit rating for U.S. government obligations generally could impact the pricing and liquidity of agency securities or corporate obligations in a manner which could impact the value of the Account’s units.

RISKS OF LIQUID INVESTMENTS

The Account’s investments in liquid investments (whether real estate-related, such as REITs, CMBS or some mortgage loans receivable, or non-real estate-related, such as cash equivalents and government securities, and whether debt or equity), are subject to the following general risks:

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 29

•				Market Volatility Risk — The risk that the Account’s investments will experience price volatility due to changing conditions in the financial markets even regardless of the credit quality or financial condition of the underlying issuer. This risk is particularly acute to the extent the Account holds equity securities, which have experienced significant short-term price volatility in recent years. Also, to the extent the Account holds debt securities, changes in overall interest rates can cause price fluctuations.
•				Interest Rate Volatility — The risk that interest rate volatility may affect the Account’s current income from an investment. As interest rates rise, the value of certain debt securities (such as those bearing lower fixed rates) held by the Account is likely to decrease.
•				Deposit / Money Market Risk — The risk that, to the extent the Account’s cash held in bank deposit accounts exceeds federally insured limits as to that bank, the Account could experience losses if banks fail. In addition, there is some risk that investments held in money market accounts or funds can suffer losses.

Further, to the extent that a significant portion of the Account’s net assets at any particular time are comprised of cash, cash equivalents and non-real estate-related liquid securities, the Account’s returns may suffer as compared to the return that could have been generated by more profitable real estate-related investments. Such a potential negative impact on returns may be exacerbated in times of low prevailing interest rates payable on many classes of liquid securities, such as is the case as of the date hereof and which may persist in the future.

RISKS OF FOREIGN INVESTMENTS

In addition to other investment risks noted above, foreign investments present the following special risks:

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•				Non-U.S. jurisdictions may impose taxes on the Account as a result of its investment activity in that jurisdiction. TIAA may be eligible for a foreign tax credit in respect of such tax paid by the Account and such credit (if available to TIAA) would be reimbursed to the Account. However, there may be circumstances where TIAA is unable to receive some or all of the benefit of a foreign tax credit and the Account would thus not receive reimbursement, which could harm the value of the Account’s units.
•				Foreign real estate markets may have different liquidity and volatility attributes than U.S. markets.
•				The regulatory environment in non-U.S. jurisdictions may disfavor owners and operators of real estate investment properties, resulting in less predictable and/or economically harmful outcomes if the Account were to face a significant dispute with a tenant or with a regulator itself.
•				The Account may be subject to increased risk of regulatory scrutiny pursuant to U.S. federal statutes, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which among other things requires robust compliance and oversight programs to help prevent violations. The costs associated with maintaining such programs, in addition to costs associated with a potential regulatory inquiry, could impair the Account’s returns and divert management’s attention from other Account activities.
•				It may be more difficult to obtain and collect a judgment on foreign investments than on domestic investments, and the costs associated with contesting claims relating to foreign investments may exceed those costs associated with a similar claim on domestic investments.
•				We may invest from time to time in securities issued by (1) entities domiciled in foreign countries, (2) domestic affiliates of such entities and/or (3) foreign domiciled affiliates of domestic entities. Such investments could be subject to the risks associated with investments subject to foreign regulation, including political unrest or the repatriation or nationalization of the issuer’s assets. These events could depress the value of such securities and/or make such securities harder to sell on favorable terms, if at all.

RISKS OF INVESTING IN MORTGAGE LOANS

The Account’s investment strategy includes, to a limited extent, investments in mortgage loans ( i.e., the Account serving as lender).

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 31

Also, certain liens on the property, such as mechanic’s or tax liens, may have priority over the Account’s security interest.

•				A deterioration in the financial condition of tenants, which could be caused by general or local economic conditions or other factors beyond the control of the Account, or the bankruptcy or insolvency of a major tenant, may adversely affect the income of a property, which could increase the likelihood that the borrower will default under its obligations.
•				The borrower may be unable to make a lump sum principal payment due under a mortgage loan at the end of the loan term, unless it can refinance the mortgage loan with another lender.
•				If interest rates are volatile during the loan period, the Account’s variable-rate mortgage loans could have volatile yields. Further, to the extent the Account makes mortgage loans with fixed interest rates, it may receive lower yields than that which is then available in the market if interest rates rise generally.

•				Prepayment Risks. The Account’s mortgage loan investments will usually be subject to the risk that the borrower repays a loan early. Also, we may be unable to reinvest the proceeds at as high an interest rate as the original mortgage loan rate.
•				Interest Limitations. The interest rate we charge on mortgage loans may inadvertently violate state usury laws that limit rates, if, for example, state law changes during the loan term. If this happens, we could incur penalties or may be unable to enforce payment of the loan.
•				Risks of Participations. To the extent the Account invested in a participating mortgage, the following additional risks would apply:

•				The participation feature, in tying the Account’s returns to the performance of the underlying asset, might generate insufficient returns to make up for the higher interest rate the loan would have obtained without the participation feature.
•				In very limited circumstances, a court may characterize the Account’s participation interest as a partnership or joint venture with the borrower and the Account could lose the priority of its security interest or become liable for the borrower’s debts.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST WITHIN TIAA

General. TIAA and its affiliates (including TIAA-CREF Alternatives Advisors, LLC and Teachers Advisors, Inc., its wholly owned subsidiaries and registered investment advisers) have interests in other real estate programs and accounts and also engage in other business activities and as such, they will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time between the Account’s business and these other activities. Also, the Account may be buying properties at the same time as TIAA affiliates that may have similar investment objectives to those of the Account. There is also a risk that TIAA will choose a property that provides lower returns to the Account than a property purchased by TIAA and its affiliates. Further, the Account will likely acquire

32 Prospectus ¡ TIAA Real Estate Account

properties in geographic areas where TIAA and its affiliates own properties. In addition, the Account may desire to sell a property at the same time another TIAA affiliate is selling a property in an overlapping market. Conflicts could also arise because some properties owned by TIAA and its affiliates may compete with the Account’s properties for tenants. Among other things, if one of the TIAA entities attracts a tenant that the Account is competing for, the Account could suffer a loss of revenue due to delays in locating another suitable tenant. TIAA has adopted allocation policies and procedures applicable to the purchasing conflicts scenario, but the resolution of such conflicts may be economically disadvantageous to the Account. As a result of TIAA’s and its affiliates’ obligations to other current and potential TIAA-sponsored investment vehicles with similar objectives to those of the Account, there is no assurance that the Account will be able to take advantage of every attractive investment opportunity that otherwise is in accordance with the Account’s investment objectives.

Liquidity Guarantee: In addition, as discussed elsewhere in this prospectus, the TIAA General Account provides a liquidity guarantee to the Account. While an independent fiduciary is responsible for establishing a “trigger point” (a percentage of TIAA’s ownership of liquidity units beyond which TIAA’s ownership may be reduced at the fiduciary’s direction), there is no express cap on the amount TIAA may be obligated to fund under this guarantee. Further, the Account’s independent fiduciary oversees any redemption of TIAA liquidity units and has initiated systematic redemptions of liquidity units owned by the TIAA General Account which were purchased during the period of significant net participant transfers out of the Account in late 2008 and early 2009. TIAA’s ownership of liquidity units (including the potential for changes in its levels of ownership in the future) could result in the perception that TIAA is taking into account its own economic interests while serving as investment manager for the Account. In particular, the value of TIAA’s liquidity units fluctuates in the same manner as the value of accumulation units held by all participants. Any perception of a conflict of interest could cause participants to transfer accumulations out of the Account to another investment option, which could have an adverse impact on the Account’s ability to act most optimally upon its investment strategy. For a discussion of the relevant allocation policies and procedures TIAA has established as well as a summary of other conflicts of interest which may arise as a result of TIAA’s management of the Account, see “Establishing and Managing the Account — the Role of TIAA — Conflicts of Interest” on page 50.

NO OPPORTUNITY FOR PRIOR REVIEW OF TRANSACTIONS

Investors do not have the opportunity to evaluate the economic or financial merit of the purchase, sale or financing of a property or other investment before the Account completes the transaction, so investors will need to rely solely on TIAA’s judgment and ability to select investments consistent with the Account’s investment objective and policies. Further, the Account may change

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 33

its investment objective and pursue specific investments in accordance with any such amended investment objective without the consent of the Account’s investors.

RISKS OF REGISTRATION UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940

The Account has not registered, and management intends to continue to operate the Account so that it will not have to register, as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Generally, a company is an “investment company” and required to register under the Investment Company Act if, among other things, it holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities, or it is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of such company’s total assets (exclusive of government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis.

If the Account were obligated to register as an investment company, the Account would have to comply with a variety of substantive requirements under the Investment Company Act that impose, among other things, limitations on capital structure, restrictions on certain investments, compliance with reporting, record keeping, voting and proxy disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that could significantly increase its operating expenses and reduce its operating flexibility. To maintain compliance with the exemptions from the Investment Company Act, the Account may be unable to sell assets it would otherwise want to sell and may be unable to purchase securities it would otherwise want to purchase, which might materially adversely impact the Account’s performance.

THE ACCOUNT’S INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND STRATEGY

Investment Objective: The Account seeks favorable long-term returns primarily through rental income and appreciation of real estate and real estate-related investments owned by the Account. The Account will also invest in non-real estate-related publicly traded securities and short-term higher quality liquid investments that are easily converted to cash to enable the Account to meet participant redemption requests, purchase or improve properties or cover other expense needs.

Investment Strategy:

Real Estate-Related Investments. The Account intends to have between 75% and 85% of its net assets invested directly in real estate or real estate-related investments with the goal of producing favorable long-term returns primarily through rental income and appreciation. These investments may consist of:

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•				Indirect interests in real estate through real estate-related securities, such as:

•				real estate limited partnerships,
•				REITs, which investments may consist of common or preferred stock interests,
•				investments in equity or debt securities of companies whose operations involve real estate ( i.e., that primarily own or manage real estate) which may not be REITs, and
•				conventional mortgage loans, participating mortgage loans, and collateralized mortgage obligations, including CMBS and other similar investments.

The Account’s principal strategy is to purchase direct ownership interests in income-producing real estate, primarily office, industrial, retail and multi-family residential properties. The Account is targeted to hold between 65% and 80% of the Account’s net assets in such direct ownership interests at any time. Historically, over 70% of the Account’s net assets have been comprised of such direct ownership interests in real estate.

In addition, while the Account is authorized to hold up to 25% of its net assets in liquid real estate-related securities, such as REITs and CMBS, management intends that the Account will not hold more than 10% of its net assets in such securities on a long-term basis. Historically, less than 10% of the Account’s net assets have been comprised of interests in these securities. In particular, under the Account’s current investment guidelines, the Account is authorized to hold up to 10% of its net assets in CMBS. As of December 31, 2012, REIT securities comprised approximately 9.0% of the Account’s net assets, and the Account held no CMBS as of such date.

Non-Real Estate-Related Investments. The Account will invest the remaining portion of its assets (targeted to be between 15% and 25% of its net assets) in publicly traded, liquid investments; namely:

However, from time to time (and most recently between late 2008 and mid 2010), the Account’s non-real estate-related liquid investments may comprise less than 15% (and possibly less than 10%) of its assets (on a net basis and/or a gross basis), especially during and immediately following periods of significant net participant outflows, in particular due to significant participant transfer activity. In addition, the Account, from time to time and on a temporary basis, may hold in excess of 25% of its net assets in non-real estate-related liquid investments, particularly during times of significant inflows into the Account

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 35

and/or a lack of attractive real estate-related investments available in the market.

Liquid Securities. Primarily due to management’s need to manage fluctuations in cash flows, in particular during and immediately following periods of significant participant net transfer activity into or out of the Account, the Account may, on a temporary basis (i) exceed the upper end of its targeted holdings (currently 35% of the Account’s net assets) in liquid securities of all types, including both publicly traded non-real estate-related liquid investments and liquid real estate-related securities, such as REITs and CMBS, or (ii) be below the low end of its targeted holdings in such liquid securities (currently 15% of the Account’s net assets).

The portion of the Account’s net assets invested in liquid investments of all types may exceed the upper end of its target, for example, if (i) the Account receives a large inflow of money in a short period of time, in particular due to significant participant transfer activity into the Account, (ii) the Account receives significant proceeds from sales or financings of direct real estate assets, (iii) there is a lack of attractive direct real estate investments available on the market, and/or (iv) the Account anticipates more near-term cash needs, including to apply to acquire direct real estate investments, pay expenses or repay indebtedness.

At December 31, 2012, the Account’s net assets totaled $14.9 billion. As of that date, the Account’s investments in real estate properties, real estate joint ventures, limited partnerships and real estate-related marketable securities, net of the fair value of mortgage loans payable on real estate, represented 82.3% of the Account’s net assets.

As discussed in more detail on page 46 under “Establishing and Managing the Account — The Role of TIAA — Liquidity Guarantee” and pursuant to its existing liquidity guarantee obligation, TIAA has agreed to purchase accumulation units issued by the Account in the event the Account has insufficient cash and liquid investments to ensure the ability, on its own, to fund participant transfer, redemption or withdrawal requests. This liquidity guarantee was first exercised in December 2008 and as of the date of this prospectus, was last exercised in June 2009.

Foreign Investments. The Account from time to time will also make foreign real estate investments. Under the Account’s investment guidelines, investments in direct foreign real estate, together with foreign real estate-related securities and foreign non-real estate-related liquid investments, may not comprise more than 25% of the Account’s net assets. See “About the Account’s Investments — In General — Foreign Real Estate and Other Foreign Investments” on page 40.

Borrowing. The Account is authorized to borrow money in accordance with its investment guidelines. Under the Account’s current investment guidelines, management intends to maintain the Account’s loan to value ratio at or below 30%. The Account’s “loan to value ratio” at any time is based on the

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outstanding principal amount of the Account’s debt to the Account’s total gross asset value. See “General Investment and Operating Policies — Other Real Estate-Related Policies — Borrowing” on page 42.

At December 31, 2012, the Account held a total of 107 real estate property investments (including its interests in 15 real estate-related joint ventures), representing 75.2% of the Account’s total investments, measured on a gross asset value basis (“Total Investments”). As of that date, the Account also held investments in REIT equity securities (representing 7.8% of Total Investments), real estate limited partnerships (representing 2.0% of Total Investments), government agency notes (representing 8.0% of Total Investments) and U.S. Treasury Bills (representing 7.0% of Total Investments). See the Account’s audited financial statements for more information as to the Account’s investments as of December 31, 2012.

ABOUT THE ACCOUNT’S INVESTMENTS — IN GENERAL

DIRECT INVESTMENTS IN REAL ESTATE

Direct Purchase: The Account will generally buy direct ownership interests in existing or newly constructed income-producing properties, primarily office, industrial, retail, and multi-family residential properties. The Account will invest mainly in established properties with existing rent and expense schedules or in newly constructed properties with predictable cash flows or, in very limited cases, where a seller agrees to provide certain minimum income levels. In addition, the Account will selectively invest in real estate development projects or engage in redevelopment projects, including pure ‘ground up’ developments. The Account does not directly invest in single-family residential real estate, nor does it currently invest in residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”), although it may invest in such securities in the future.

Purchase-Leaseback Transactions: Although it has not yet done so, the Account can enter into purchase-leaseback transactions (leasebacks) in which it would buy land and income-producing improvements on the land (such as buildings), and simultaneously lease the land and improvements to a third party (the lessee). Leasebacks are generally for very long terms. Usually, the lessee is responsible for operating the property and paying all operating costs, including taxes and mortgage debt. The Account can also give the lessee an option to buy the land and improvements.

In some leasebacks, the Account may purchase only the land under an income-producing building and lease the land to the building owner. In those cases, the Account could seek to share (or “participate”) in any increase in property value from building improvements or in the lessee’s revenues from the building above a base amount. The Account can invest in leasebacks that are subordinated to other interests in the land, buildings, and improvements

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( e.g. , first mortgages); in that case, the leaseback interest would be subject to greater risks.

INVESTMENTS IN MORTGAGES

General: The Account can originate or acquire interests in mortgage loans, generally on the same types of properties it might otherwise buy — i.e., the Account will be a creditor. These mortgage loans may pay fixed or variable interest rates or have “participating” features (as described below). Normally the Account’s mortgage loans will be secured by properties that have income-producing potential. They usually will not be insured or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or anyone else. They usually will be non-recourse, which means they won’t be the borrower’s personal obligations. Most will be first mortgage loans on existing income-producing property, with first-priority liens on the property. These loans may be amortized ( i.e., principal is paid over the course of the loan), or may provide for interest-only payments, with a balloon payment at maturity. In addition, the Account may originate a mortgage loan on a property it has recently sold (this is sometimes called “seller financing”).

Participating Mortgage Loans: The Account may make mortgage loans which permit the Account to share (have a “participation”) in the income from or appreciation of the underlying property. These participations let the Account receive additional interest, usually calculated as a percentage of the income the borrower receives from operating, selling or refinancing the property. The Account may also have an option to buy an interest in the property securing the participating loan.

Managing Mortgage Loan Investments: TIAA can manage the Account’s mortgage loans in a variety of ways, including:

OTHER REAL ESTATE-RELATED INVESTMENTS

Joint Investment Vehicles Involved in Real Estate Activities: The Account can hold interests in joint ventures, limited partnerships, funds, and other commingled investment vehicles involved in real estate-related activities, including owning, financing, managing, or developing real estate. Many times, the Account will have limited voting and management rights in these commingled vehicles, including over the selection and disposition of the underlying real estate-related assets owned by the vehicle. Also, the Account’s ability to sell freely its interests in commingled vehicles may be restricted by the terms of the governing agreements. From time to time, the Account may also serve as the general partner, managing member, manager or

38 Prospectus ¡ TIAA Real Estate Account

administrator for a joint venture, for which it may earn fees and assume certain responsibilities typically associated with serving as a manager. The Account will not hold real property jointly with TIAA or its affiliates.

Real Estate Investment Trusts: The Account may invest in REITs, which are entities (usually publicly owned and traded) that lease, manage, acquire, hold mortgages on, and develop real estate. Normally the Account will attempt to replicate the holdings of widely recognized REIT indexes, but at times may gain exposure to REITs by purchasing the common or preferred stock of an individual REIT, by purchasing index funds or exchange traded funds, or by purchasing debt securities issued by a REIT. REITs seek to maximize share value and increase cash flows by acquiring and developing new real estate projects, upgrading existing properties or renegotiating existing arrangements to increase rental rates and occupancy levels. REITs must distribute at least 90% of their taxable income to shareholders in order to benefit from a special tax structure, which means they may pay high dividends. The value of a particular REIT can be affected by such factors as general economic and market conditions (in particular as to publicly traded REITs), the performance of the real estate sector in which the REIT primarily invests, cash flow, the skill of its management team, and defaults by its lessees or borrowers.

Mortgage-Backed Securities: The Account can invest in mortgage-backed securities and other mortgage-related or asset-backed instruments, including CMBS, RMBS, mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government, non-agency mortgage instruments, and collateralized mortgage obligations that are fully collateralized by a portfolio of mortgages or mortgage-related securities. Mortgage-backed securities are instruments that directly or indirectly represent a participation in, or are secured by and payable from, one or more mortgage loans secured by real estate. In most cases, mortgage-backed securities distribute principal and interest payments on the mortgages to investors. Interest rates on these instruments can be fixed or variable. Some classes of mortgage-backed securities may be entitled to receive mortgage prepayments before other classes do. Therefore, the prepayment risk for a particular instrument may be different than for other mortgage-related securities. Many classes of mortgage-backed securities experienced volatility in pricing and liquidity following the 2008 financial crisis with some volatility persisting to the present day.

Stock of Companies Involved in Real Estate Activities: From time to time, the Account can invest in common or preferred stock of companies whose business involves real estate. These stocks may be listed on U.S. or foreign stock exchanges or traded over-the-counter in the U.S. or abroad.

NON-REAL ESTATE-RELATED INVESTMENTS

The Account can also invest in:

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				or government agency securities, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, repurchase agreements, interest-bearing time deposits, and corporate debt securities;
•				Corporate debt or asset-backed securities of U.S. or foreign entities, or debt securities of foreign governments or multinational organizations, but only if they are investment-grade and rated in the top four categories by a nationally recognized rating organization (or, if not rated, deemed by TIAA to be of equal quality); and
•				Common or preferred stock, or other ownership interests, of U.S. or foreign companies that aren’t involved in real estate, to a limited extent.

FOREIGN REAL ESTATE AND OTHER FOREIGN INVESTMENTS

The Account from time to time will invest in foreign real estate or real estate-related investments. It might also invest in securities or other instruments of foreign government or private issuers. Under the Account’s investment guidelines, investments in direct foreign real estate, together with foreign real estate-related securities and foreign non-real estate-related liquid investments, may not comprise more than 25% of the Account’s net assets. However, through the date of this prospectus, such foreign real estate-related investments have never represented more than 7.5% of the Account’s net assets and management does not intend such foreign investments to exceed 10% of the Account’s net assets.

As of the date of this prospectus, the Account holds an interest in one foreign property investment (in France), which, as of December 31, 2012, represented approximately 1.4% of the Account’s net assets. See Appendix B for more information, including valuation information, concerning these investments.

Depending on investment opportunities, the Account’s foreign investments could at times be concentrated in one or two foreign countries. We will consider the special risks involved in foreign investing before investing in foreign real estate and won’t invest unless our standards are met.

GENERAL INVESTMENT AND OPERATING POLICIES

STANDARDS FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS

Buying Real Estate or Making Mortgage Loans: Before the Account purchases real estate or makes a mortgage loan, TIAA will consider such factors as:

TIAA will also analyze the fair market value of the underlying real estate, taking into account the property’s operating cash flow (based on the historical

40 Prospectus ¡ TIAA Real Estate Account

and projected levels of rental and occupancy rates and expenses), as well as the general economic conditions in the area where the property is located.

Diversification: We haven’t placed percentage limitations on the type and location of properties that the Account can buy. However, the Account seeks to diversify its investments by type of property, geographic location and tenant mix. How much the Account diversifies will depend upon whether suitable investments are available, the Account’s ability to divest of properties that are in over-concentrated locations or sectors, and how much the Account has available to invest.

Special Criteria for Making Mortgage Loans: Ordinarily, the Account will only make a mortgage loan if the loan, when added to any existing debt, will not exceed 85% of the appraised value of the mortgaged property when the loan is made, unless the Account is compensated for taking additional risk.

Selling Real Estate Investments: The Account doesn’t intend to buy and sell its real estate investments simply to make short-term profits, although proceeds from sales of real estate investments do play a role in the Account’s cash management generally. Rather, the Account’s general strategy in selling real estate investments is to dispose of those assets which management believes:

Management from time to time will evaluate the need to manage liquidity in the Account as part of its analysis as to whether to undertake a particular asset sale. The Account will reinvest any sale proceeds that management doesn’t believe it will need to pay operating expenses, fund other obligations (such as debt obligations and funding commitments under limited partnership agreements) or to meet participant redemption requests ( e.g. , cash withdrawals or transfers).

OTHER REAL ESTATE-RELATED POLICIES

Appraisals and Valuations of Real Estate Assets: The Account will rely on TIAA’s own analysis, normally along with an independent external appraisal, in connection with the purchase of a property by the Account. The Account will normally receive an independent external appraisal performed by a third party appraisal firm at or before the time it buys a real estate asset, and the Account also generally obtains an independent appraisal when it makes mortgage loans.

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 41

Subsequently, each of the Account’s real properties are appraised, and mortgage loans are valued, at least once every calendar quarter. Each of the Account’s real estate properties are appraised each quarter by an independent third party appraiser who is a member of a professional appraisal organization. In addition, TIAA’s internal appraisal staff performs a review of each independent appraisal of each real estate property as the final step in the Account’s process of determining the value, in conjunction with the Account’s independent fiduciary, and TIAA’s internal appraisal staff or the independent fiduciary may request an additional appraisal or valuation outside of this quarterly cycle. Any differences in the conclusions of TIAA’s internal appraisal staff and the independent appraiser will be reviewed by the independent fiduciary, which will make a final determination on the matter (which may include ordering a subsequent independent appraisal).

See “Valuing the Account’s Assets” on page 58 for more information on how each class of the Account’s investments (including assets other than real estate properties) are valued.

Borrowing: The Account may borrow money and assume or obtain a mortgage on a property — i.e., make leveraged real estate investments. Under the Account’s current investment guidelines, management intends to maintain the Account’s loan to value ratio at or below 30% (measured at the time of incurrence and after giving effect thereto). Forms of borrowing may include

The Account’s loan to value ratio at any time is based on the ratio of the outstanding principal amount of the Account’s debt to the Account’s total gross asset value. The Account’s total gross asset value, for these purposes, is equal to the total fair value of the Account’s assets (including the fair value of the Account’s interest in joint ventures), with no reduction associated with any indebtedness on such assets.

In times of high net inflow activity, in particular during times of high net participant transfer inflows, management may determine to apply a portion of such cash flows to make prepayments of indebtedness prior to scheduled maturity, which would have the effect of reducing the Account’s loan to value ratio. Such prepayments may require the Account to pay fees or ‘yield maintenance’ amounts to lenders.

In calculating outstanding indebtedness, we will include only the Account’s actual percentage interest in any borrowings on a joint venture investment and not that of any joint venture partner. Also, at the time the Account (or a joint venture in which the Account is a partner) enters into a revolving line of credit, management deems the maximum amount which may be drawn under that line of credit as fully incurred, regardless of whether the maximum amount available has been drawn from time to time.

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As of December 31, 2012, the aggregate principal amount of the Account’s outstanding debt (including the Account’s share of debt on its joint venture investments) was approximately $4.0 billion and the Account’s loan to value ratio was approximately 21.0%.

The Account may only borrow up to 70% of the then current value of a property, although construction loans may be for 100% of costs incurred in developing a property. Except for construction loans, any mortgage loans on a property will be non-recourse to the Account, meaning that if there is a default on a loan in respect of a specific property, the lender will have recourse to ( i.e., be able to foreclose on) only the property encumbered (or the joint venture owning the property), or to other specific Account properties that may have been pledged as security for the defaulted loan, but not to any other assets of the Account. When possible, the Account will seek to have loans mature at different times to limit the risks of borrowing.

The Account will not obtain mortgage financing on properties it owns from TIAA or any of its affiliates. Under certain circumstances, TIAA or an affiliate may provide a loan to a third party purchaser of a property sold by the Account, but no such financing will be made with respect to a property the Account still owns. However, the Account may place an intra-company mortgage on an Account property held by a subsidiary for tax planning or other purposes. This type of mortgage will not be subject to the general limitations on borrowing described above.

When the Account assumes or obtains a mortgage on a property, it will bear the expense of mortgage payments. It will also be exposed to certain additional risks, which are described in “Risk Factors — Risks of Borrowing” on page 22.

In addition, while it has not done so through the date of this prospectus, the Account may obtain a line of credit to meet short-term cash needs, which line of credit may be unsecured and/or contain terms that may require the Account to secure a loan with one or more of its properties. Management expects the proceeds from any such short-term borrowing would be used to meet the cash flow needs of the Account’s properties and real estate-related investments, but depending on the circumstances, proceeds could be used for Account-level funding needs (including the need to honor unexpected participant withdrawal activity).

Discretion to Evict or Foreclose: TIAA may, in its discretion, evict defaulting tenants or foreclose on defaulting borrowers to maintain the value of an investment, when it decides that it is in the Account’s best interests.

Property Management and Leasing Services: The Account usually will hire a national or regional independent third party property management company to perform the day-to-day management services for each of the Account’s properties, including supervising any on-site personnel, negotiating maintenance and service contracts, providing advice on major repairs and capital improvements and assisting the Account in ensuring compliance with

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 43

environmental regulations. The property manager will also recommend changes in rent schedules and create marketing and advertising programs to attain and maintain high levels of occupancy by responsible tenants. The Account may also hire independent third party leasing companies to perform or coordinate leasing and marketing services to fill any vacancies. The fees paid to the property management company, along with any leasing commissions and expenses, will reduce the Account’s cash flow from a property.

Insurance: We intend to arrange for, or require proof of, comprehensive insurance, including liability, fire, and extended coverage, for the Account’s real properties and properties securing mortgage loans or subject to purchase-leaseback transactions. The Account currently participates in property, casualty and other related insurance programs as part of TIAA’s property insurance programs, and the Account only bears the cost of insuring only the properties it owns. The terms and conditions of the insurance coverage the Account has on its properties, in conjunction with the type of loss actually suffered at a property, may subject the property, or the Account as a whole, to a cap on insurance proceeds that is less than the loss or losses suffered. In addition, the Account’s insurance policies on its properties currently include catastrophic coverage for wind, earthquakes and terrorist acts, but we can’t assure you that it will be adequate to cover all losses. We also can’t assure you that we will be able to obtain coverage for wind, earthquakes and terrorist acts at an acceptable cost, if at all, at the time a policy expires. While the Account will seek to have coverage placed with highly rated, financially healthy insurance carriers, the Account is reliant on the continued financial health of the third-party insurers it engages.

OTHER POLICIES

Investment Company Act of 1940: The Account has not registered, and we intend to operate the Account so that it will not have to register, as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act. This will require monitoring the Account’s portfolio so that it won’t have more than 40 percent of total assets, other than U.S. government securities and cash items, in investment securities. As a result, the Account may be unable to make some potentially profitable investments, it may be unable to sell assets it would otherwise want to sell or it may be forced to sell investments in investment securities before it would otherwise want to do so.

Changing Operating Policies or Winding Down: Under the terms of the contracts and in accordance with applicable insurance law, TIAA can decide to change, in its sole discretion, the operating policies of the Account or to wind it down. If the Account is wound down, you may need to transfer your accumulations or annuity income to TIAA’s traditional annuity or any CREF account available under your employer’s plan. All investors in the Account will be notified in advance if we decide to change a significant policy or wind down the Account.

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ESTABLISHING AND MANAGING THE ACCOUNT —
THE ROLE OF TIAA

ESTABLISHING THE ACCOUNT

The Board established the Real Estate Account as a separate account of TIAA under New York law on February 22, 1995. The Account is regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS,” formerly, the New York State Insurance Department) and the insurance departments of the other jurisdictions in which the annuity contracts are offered. Although TIAA owns the assets of the Real Estate Account, and the Account’s obligations under the contract are obligations of TIAA, the Account’s income, investment gains, and investment losses are credited to or charged against the assets of the Account without regard to TIAA’s other income, gains, or losses. Under New York insurance law, we can’t charge the Account with liabilities incurred by any other TIAA business activities or any other TIAA separate account.

MANAGING THE ACCOUNT

TIAA employees, under the direction and control of the Board and its Investment Committee, manage the investment of the Account’s assets, following investment management procedures TIAA has adopted for the Account. The Account does not have officers, directors or employees. TIAA’s investment management responsibilities include:

In addition, TIAA performs administration functions for the Account. These functions include receiving and allocating premiums, calculating and making annuity payments and providing recordkeeping and other services. Distribution services for the Account (which include, without limitation, distribution of the annuity contracts, advising existing annuity contract owners in connection with their accumulations and helping employers implement and manage retirement plans) are performed by Services. TIAA and Services provide investment management, administration and distribution services, as applicable, on an “at-cost” basis. For more information about the charge for investment management, administration and distribution services, see “Expense Deductions” on page 64.

You don’t have the right to vote for TIAA Trustees. See “General Matters — Voting Rights” on page 145. For information about the Trustees, certain executive officers of TIAA and the Account’s portfolio management team, see Appendix A of this prospectus.

TIAA’s ERISA Fiduciary Status. To the extent that assets of a plan subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 45

(“ERISA”), are allocated to the Account, TIAA will be acting as an “investment manager” and a fiduciary under ERISA with respect to those assets.

LIQUIDITY GUARANTEE

The TIAA General Account provides the Account with a liquidity guarantee enabling the Account to have funds available to meet participant redemption, transfer or cash withdrawal requests. This guarantee is required by the NYDFS. If the Account can’t fund participant requests from the Account’s own cash flow and liquid investments, the TIAA General Account will fund such requests by purchasing accumulation units (accumulation units that are purchased by TIAA are generally referred to as “liquidity units”) issued by the Account. TIAA guarantees that you can redeem your accumulation units at their accumulation unit value next determined after your transfer or cash withdrawal request is received in good order. Whether the liquidity guarantee is exercised is based on the cash level of the Account from time to time, as well as recent participant withdrawal activity and the Account’s expected working capital, debt service and cash needs, all subject to the oversight of the independent fiduciary. While the proceeds from liquidity unit purchases are not placed in a segregated account solely to fund participant requests, the guarantee is in place to meet participant needs. Liquidity units owned by TIAA are valued in the same manner as accumulation units owned by the Account’s participants. Importantly, however, this liquidity guarantee is not a guarantee of the investment performance of the Account or a guarantee of the value of your units. Transfers from the Account to a CREF or TIAA account, or another investment option, are limited to once every calendar quarter (except for specifically prescribed systematic transfers established in accordance with the terms of the participant’s contract and employer’s plan), and cash withdrawals may be further restricted by the terms of your plan.

TIAA’s obligation to provide Account participants liquidity through purchases of liquidity units is not subject to an express regulatory or contractual limitation, although as described below under “—Role of the Independent Fiduciary,” the independent fiduciary may (but is not obligated to) require the reduction of TIAA’s interest through sales of assets from the Account if TIAA’s interest exceeds a predetermined trigger point. Even if this trigger point were reached and regardless of whether the independent fiduciary has required the Account to dispose of any assets, TIAA’s obligation to provide liquidity under the guarantee will continue.

The Account pays TIAA for the risk associated with providing the liquidity guarantee through a daily deduction from the Account’s net assets. See “Expense Deductions” on page 64. Primarily as a result of significant net participant transfers throughout 2008 (in particular, in the second half of 2008), pursuant to this liquidity guarantee obligation, the TIAA General Account first purchased liquidity units on December 24, 2008. Through the date of this prospectus, the TIAA General Account has paid an aggregate of approximately $1.2 billion to purchase liquidity units in a number of separate

46 Prospectus ¡ TIAA Real Estate Account

transactions, with the last such transaction occurring in June 2009. Management cannot predict whether future liquidity unit purchases will be required under the liquidity guarantee although as of the date of this prospectus, management believes such purchases are unlikely in the near term.

Redemption of Liquidity Units. The independent fiduciary is vested with oversight and approval over any redemption of TIAA’s liquidity units, acting in the best interests of Real Estate Account participants.

As of December 31, 2012, TIAA owns 1.2 million liquidity units, representing approximately 2.2% of the Account’s outstanding accumulation units as of such date. The independent fiduciary is currently in the process of conducting a systematic redemption of all of the liquidity units held by the TIAA General Account. Approximately one-quarter of such units were redeemed evenly over the business days in each of June, September and December 2012, representing a total of $940.3 million redeemed during 2012. The independent fiduciary’s redemption of the remaining liquidity units held by TIAA is conditioned on (i) the Account holding and being projected to hold at least 17% of its net assets in cash, cash equivalents and publicly traded, liquid non-real estate related securities, after taking into account certain projected sources and uses of cash flow into the Account, and (ii) there having been positive recent historical net participant flows over the 20 business days prior to such redemption. As of the date of this filing, the independent fiduciary intends to cause the redemption of the remaining liquidity units held by TIAA throughout the remaining days in March 2013, such that all such liquidity units would be redeemed by the end of the month. There is no guarantee that such redemptions will occur, as the timing of redemptions is in the discretion of the independent fiduciary.

In addition, at any time the Account holds cash, cash equivalents and publicly traded, liquid non-real estate related securities in excess of 25% of its net assets, the independent fiduciary intends to cause a redemption of liquidity units in an amount equal to the Account’s average net participant flows during the preceding month. As of December 31, 2012, the Account held 17.4% of its net assets in such liquid non-real estate-related investments (along with its cash and cash equivalents). The independent fiduciary reserves the right to authorize or direct the redemption of all or a portion of liquidity units at any time.

In administering any redemptions (including those intended as described above), the independent fiduciary has indicated to management that it intends to evaluate, among other things (i) projected acquisitions and dispositions of real estate and real estate-related investments, (ii) participant inflow and outflow trends, (iii) the Account’s net income and (iv) obligations to make debt service payments and pay principal balances of mortgages on Account properties. The independent fiduciary is vested with oversight and approval over any redemption of liquidity units owned by TIAA, acting in the best interests of Real Estate Account participants.

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 47

As a general matter, the independent fiduciary may authorize or direct the redemption of all or a portion of liquidity units at any time and TIAA will request the approval of the independent fiduciary before any liquidity units are redeemed. There is no guarantee that the independent fiduciary will cause redemptions and even if redemptions do commence, there is no guarantee as to the time period over which such redemptions would occur.

Upon termination and liquidation of the Account (wind-up), any liquidity units held by TIAA will be the last units redeemed, unless the independent fiduciary directs otherwise. Finally, TIAA may redeem its liquidity units more frequently than once per calendar quarter, subject at all times to the oversight and approval of the Account’s independent fiduciary (discussed in more detail in the subsection entitled “—Role of the Independent Fiduciary” immediately below).

ROLE OF THE INDEPENDENT FIDUCIARY

Because TIAA’s ability to purchase and sell liquidity units raises certain technical issues under ERISA, TIAA applied for and received a prohibited transaction exemption from the U.S. Department of Labor in 1996 (“PTE-96-76”). In connection with the exemption, TIAA has appointed an independent fiduciary for the Real Estate Account, with overall responsibility for reviewing Account transactions to determine whether they are in accordance with the Account’s investment guidelines. Real Estate Research Corporation, a real estate consulting firm whose principal offices are located in Chicago, Illinois, was initially appointed as independent fiduciary effective March 1, 2006 and currently serves as the Account’s independent fiduciary. The independent fiduciary’s responsibilities include:

48 Prospectus ¡ TIAA Real Estate Account

In addition, Real Estate Research Corporation has certain responsibilities with respect to the Account that it had historically undertaken or is currently undertaking with respect to TIAA’s purchase and ownership of liquidity units, including among other things, reviewing the purchases and redemption of liquidity units by TIAA to ensure the Account uses the correct unit values. In connection therewith, as set forth in PTE 96-76, the independent fiduciary’s responsibilities include:

As of the date of this prospectus, the independent fiduciary, which has the right to adjust the trigger point, has established the trigger point at 45% of the outstanding accumulation units and it will continue to monitor TIAA’s ownership interest in the Account and provide further recommendations as necessary. As of December 31, 2012, TIAA owned approximately 2.2% of the outstanding accumulation units of the Account. In establishing the appropriate trigger point, including whether or not to require certain actions once the trigger point has been reached, the independent fiduciary will assess, among other things and to the extent consistent with PTE 96-76 and the independent fiduciary’s duties under ERISA, the risk that a conflict of interest could arise due to the level of TIAA’s ownership interest in the Account.

A special subcommittee consisting of five (5) independent outside members of the Investment Committee of the Board renewed the appointment of Real Estate Research Corporation as the independent fiduciary for an additional three-year term, which appointment was effective as of March 1, 2012, and continues through February 28, 2015. This subcommittee may renew the independent fiduciary appointment, remove the independent fiduciary, or appoint its successor. The independent fiduciary can be removed for cause by the vote of three (3) out of the five (5) subcommittee members and will not be reappointed if two (2) of the subcommittee members disapprove of the

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 49

reappointment. The independent fiduciary can resign after providing at least 180 days’ written notice.

The Account pays the independent fiduciary directly. The investment management charge includes the costs associated with retaining the independent fiduciary. Under PTE 96-76, the independent fiduciary must receive less than 5% of its annual gross revenues (including payment for its services to the Account) from TIAA and its affiliates.

When you decide as a participant or plan fiduciary to invest in the Account, after TIAA has provided you with full and fair disclosure, including the disclosure in this prospectus, you are also acknowledging that you approve and accept Real Estate Research Corporation or any successor to serve as the Account’s independent fiduciary.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

General. Employees of TIAA that provide advice with respect to the Real Estate Account may also provide investment advice with respect to investments managed by TIAA-CREF Alternatives Advisors, LLC and Teachers Advisors, LLC, both indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries of TIAA and registered investment advisers. In addition, TIAA and its affiliates offer (and may in the future offer) other accounts and investment products that are not managed under an “at cost” expense structure. Therefore, TIAA and its employees may at times face various conflicts of interest. For example, the TIAA General Account and a privately offered core property investment fund managed by TIAA-CREF Alternatives Advisors, LLC (the “core property investment fund”) may sometimes compete with the Real Estate Account in the purchase of investments; however, both accounts will be subject to the allocation procedure described below. (Each of the TIAA General Account, the Real Estate Account and the core property investment fund together with any other real estate accounts or funds that are established or may be established by TIAA or its affiliates in the future, are herein referred to as an “account.”)

Many of the personnel of TIAA involved in performing services to the Real Estate Account will have competing demands on their time. The personnel will devote such time to the affairs of the Account as TIAA’s management determines, in its sole discretion exercising good faith, is necessary to properly service the Account. TIAA believes that it has sufficient personnel to discharge its responsibility to the Real Estate Account, the General Account, the core property investment fund and other accounts to avoid conflicts of interest. TIAA or its affiliates may form other real estate investment vehicles in the future and we will take steps to assure that those vehicles are integrated into these conflict of interest policies. TIAA does not accept acquisition or placement fees for the services it provides to the Account.

Allocation Procedure. TIAA and its affiliates allocate new investments (including real property investments, but generally not real estate limited partnership investments) among the accounts in accordance with a written allocation procedure as adopted by TIAA and modified from time to time.

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Generally, the portfolio managers for each of the accounts will evaluate acquisition opportunities which conform to the investment strategy of the account. If more than one account expresses an interest in a particular investment in a particular sector, a strict rotation system will be used whereby the interested account highest on the list will be allowed to pursue the transaction, and then such account will drop to the bottom of the rotation for new investments in that sector. This rotation system is employed on a sector-by-sector basis for each of the office, retail, industrial, multifamily and other sectors; meaning that an account (including the Real Estate Account) could, at any one time, be at the top or the bottom of the rotation for new investment opportunities in all of the four sectors in which the Real Estate Account invests. If only one account is interested, that account will be allocated the opportunity with no change in its position in the rotation. In addition, there may be circumstances where multiple properties are presented to TIAA for sale as a single acquisition opportunity, and the proposed price is inclusive of all the properties. If more than one account has interest in all or a portion of such bundled acquisition opportunity, TIAA’s acquisition staff will investigate with the seller whether the properties can be unbundled and offered to the accounts on an individual basis and the sector-based rotation system described above will apply to the allocation of such unbundled properties.

An asset allocation oversight committee made up of senior officers of TIAA (representing its asset management, risk management, product management, internal audit, compliance, legal and accounting groups) will review and discuss, on a quarterly basis, the allocations made during the previous quarter based on this allocation procedure to, among other things, ensure the procedure is being followed and to review and approve any changes to the procedure. In addition, the procedure will be reviewed by this internal committee on at least an annual basis.

In addition, non-discretionary mandates within an account, where the account is a major co-investor, will be included as part of that account’s rotation and will not have a separate place in the foregoing rotation among accounts.

Leasing Conflicts. Conflicts could also arise because some properties in the TIAA General Account, the core property investment fund and other accounts may compete for tenants with the Real Estate Account’s properties. Management believes the potential for leasing conflicts are minimized by the unique characteristics of each property, including location, submarket, physical characteristics, amenities and lease rollover schedules. Management believes the differing business strategies of the accounts also reduce potential conflicts. If a conflict arises, as appropriate, the competing accounts will arrange that different property managers and leasing brokers are engaged, each charged with using their best efforts to support the property management and leasing activity for each particular property and an ethical screen will be placed between the internal asset managers for the respective properties. Any conflicts that arise will be reported to the next occurring global real estate

TIAA Real Estate Account ¡ Prospectus 51

portfolio oversight committee (which is comprised of portfolio managers for the accounts).

Sales Conflicts. Conflicts could also potentially arise when two TIAA accounts attempt to sell properties located in the same market or submarket, especially if there are a limited number of potential purchasers and/or if such purchaser has an ongoing business relationship with TIAA or one of its specific accounts.

Liquidity Guarantee. TIAA’s ownership of liquidity units (including potential changes in future ownership levels) could result in the perception that TIAA is taking into account its own economic interests while serving as investment manager for the Account. In particular, there is the concern that TIAA could make investment decisions (and other management decisions) with respect to the Account which serve the interest of the TIAA General Account, at the expense of those participants that have chosen the Account as an investment option. This could manifest itself, among other ways, by the Account disposing its properties solely to raise liquidity in avoidance of having a need for the liquidity guarantee, or by foregoing otherwise attractive investment opportunities so as not to impair liquid asset levels.

Management believes that any conflict (or potential conflict) is mitigated by, among other things, the detailed valuation procedure for the Account’s properties, which includes independent appraisals and the oversight of the independent fiduciary. Also, the independent fiduciary oversees the liquidity guarantee execution to ensure the proper unit values are applied, and the independent fiduciary will oversee any liquidity unit redemptions. Further, the independent fiduciary is vested with the right to establish a trigger point, which is a level of ownership at which the fiduciary is empowered, but not required, to reduce TIAA’s ownership interest (with the goal to mitigate any potential conflict of interest) through the means described in the immediately preceding section. For example, the independent fiduciary could perceive a conflict of interest if it believed that management directed the sale of properties solely to increase liquidity (not in accordance with the Account’s investment guidelines or at “fire sale” prices) with the sole goal of avoiding the need for further TIAA liquidity unit purchases under the liquidity guarantee. In such case, the independent fiduciary would be authorized to adjust the trigger point, at which time the fiduciary would have control over the sales of properties (including the timing and pricing) to ensure such sales are in the best interests of the Account.

While it retains the oversight over the Account’s investment guidelines, valuation and appraisal matters and the liquidity guarantee as described above in “—Role of the Independent Fiduciary,” the independent fiduciary’s authority to override investment management decisions made by TIAA’s managers acting on behalf of the Account is limited to those circumstances after which the trigger point has been reached or during a wind-down of the Account.

52 Prospectus ¡ TIAA Real Estate Account

INDEMNIFICATION

The Account has agreed to indemnify TIAA and its affiliates, including its officers and trustees, against certain liabilities to the extent permitted by law, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933. The Account may make such indemnification out of its assets.

SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following selected financial data should be considered in conjunction with the Account’s consolidated financial statements and notes provided in this prospectus (amounts in millions except for per accumulation unit amounts).