Equinix

Welltower

Prologis

American Tower

Realty Income Corp

Digital Realty Trust

Simon Property Group

Public Storage

Crown Castle International

Iron Mountain

iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF

ICF tracks an index of large-cap REITs selected by a committee.

JPMorgan BetaBuilders MSCI US REIT ETF

Direxion Daily Real Estate Bull 3x Shares

Direxion Daily Real Estate Bear 3x Shares

Fidelity MSCI Real Estate ETF

First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund

iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF

Nuveen Real Estate Income Fund

Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF

Neuberger Berman Real Estate Securities Income Fund Inc

US Diversified Real Estate ETF

Invesco Active US Real Estate

ALPS Active REIT ETF

ProShares Short Real Estate

Cohen And Steers Total Return Realty Fund

Cohen & Steers Reit And Preferred Income Fund Inc

Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund

SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF

Schwab U.S. REIT ETF

Seven Hills Realty Trust

ProShares UltraShort Real Estate

Pacer Funds Trust-Pacer Benchmark Data & Infrastructure Real Estate Sector ETF

ProShares Ultra Real Estate

iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF

Vanguard Real Estate ETF

REITs experienced a 26% drop in prices due to rising interest rates, creating opportunities for investors. Despite the overall decline, many REIT sectors, such as industrial, multifamily, and manufactured housing, showed strong FFO/share growth. The market pricing of REITs did not align with their fundamental performance, creating mispricing in sectors like retail, towers, and self-storage.

2 Years Of Gloom Have Done Interesting Things To REIT Valuation

Agree Realty

AGNC Investment

Alexander & Baldwin

Alexandria Real Estate Equities

AvalonBay Communities

Blackstone Mortgage Trust

COPT Defense Properties

CubeSmart

Cousins Properties

Healthpeak Properties Inc

EastGroup Properties

Equity LifeStyle Properties

Essential Properties Realty Trust Inc

Equity Residential

Empire State Realty Trust

Getty Realty

Highwoods Properties

Independence Realty Trust

U.S. equity markets rebounded from their worst weekly decline in a year despite a continued uplift in benchmark interest rates, as a solid start to earnings season counteracted disappointing economic data. Ahead of the Fed's policy meeting in the week ahead, markets were confounded - albeit temporarily - by a "jarring" GDP report that showed a return of "stagflationary" trends. Defying the macro headwinds to post its best week since November, the S&P 500 rallied 2.8% on the week - erasing essentially all of its declines in the prior week.

Stagflation Is Back

iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF is a fixed-income exchange-traded fund. The vehicle focuses on REIT equity and has a passive investment approach. The fund tracks the Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index, meaning it holds the same assets as the index and doesn't try to outperform it through active management. REITs have been negatively impacted by rising interest rates in 2024. ICF's performance reflects this, with a total return down over 8% year-to-date.

ICF: Not As Attractive As The CEFs From Cohen & Steers

Principal Real Estate Active Opportunities ETF

Columbia Research Enhanced Real Estate ETF

CareTrust REIT

Dimensional US Real Estate ETF

Dimensional Global Real Estate ETF

iShares Environmentally Aware Real Estate ETF

Franklin Street Properties Corp.

Generation Income Properties

Goldman Sachs Future Real Estate And Infrastructure Equity ETF

Home Appreciation US REIT ETF

Hudson Pacific Properties

Pacer Benchmark Industrial Real Estate SCTR ETF

InvenTrust Properties Corp

JPMorgan Realty Income ETF

Janus Henderson U.S. Real Estate ETF

NETLease Corporate Real Estate ETF

Nuveen Short-Term REIT ETF

OUTFRONT Media

REITs bounced back from a rough start to the year with a strong +3.26% average total return in March. Mid cap (+5.04%), small cap (+3.90%) and large cap REITs (+2.32%) averaged gains in March, while micro caps (-0.32%) saw yet another month in the red. 78.06% of REIT securities had a positive total return in March.

The State Of REITs: April 2024 Edition

Broadstone Net Lease

Blackstone Group

CTO Realty Growth

Diversified Healthcare Trust

Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT

LTC Properties

Virtus Real Asset Income ETF

U.S. equity markets declined this week while benchmark interest rates jumped to the highest level since November after stronger-than-expected employment data showed robust hiring trends in early 2024. Stagflation has crept back into the economic discussion over the past several weeks amid a resurgence in oil prices alongside economic data showing stubbornly lukewarm inflationary trends. Following two straight weeks of gains which had lifted the benchmark to record-highs, the S&P 500 declined by 0.9% this week. Real estate equities were among the laggards this week.

A Crude Problem

Essex Property Trust

H&R Block

Real estate investment through REITs is popular because REITs distribute generous dividends and also they're easy to understand.

Investing In Real Estate Through REITs

Ellington Financial

Extra Space Storage

Global Net Lease

Kimco Realty

Gladstone Land

Ready Capital Corp

Regency Centers

Two years of persistent rate-driven pressure on commercial and residential real estate markets appeared to be easing in early 2024, but firming inflation has again muddied the outlook. Expectations of "Higher for Longer" have merely shifted to "High for Long." Many private equity funds and some highly-levered REITs were ill-prepared for a period of sustained 4-5%+ benchmark rates. Private markets are finally feeling the pain that beset public REIT investors since 2021. Commercial property values have now declined over 20% nationally, and nearly 40% in some troubled segments.

State Of REIT Nation: Not Out Of The Woods, Yet

American Homes 4 Rent

Brandywine Realty

Chatham Lodging Trust

EPR Properties

Medical Properties Trust

REITs fell slightly deeper into the red in 2024 with a -0.81% total return in February. Mid cap (+1.46%) and large cap REITs (+1.04%) averaged gains in February outperforming small caps (-1.33%) and micro caps (-6.98%). Only 50.64% of REIT securities had a positive total return in February.

The State Of REITs: March 2024 Edition

How REITs have fared through high interest rate environment. Takeaways from REITs earnings season so far. When rate cuts do come, some REIT sectors may stand to benefit.

Why Lower Rates Could Lead To Opportunities In REITs This Year

Bank of America

Citigroup

CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust

Goldman Sachs

JPMorgan Chase & Co

Morgan Stanley

Office Properties Income Trust

The REIT sector had a rough start to 2024 with a -5.72% total return in January. Large cap REITs (-4.79%) outperformed their smaller peers in January. Micro cap REITs (-8.39%) averaged the steepest declines. Only 9.55% of REIT securities had a positive total return in January.

The State Of REITs: February 2024 Edition

The yield on 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities TIPS fell significantly from ~2.5% to ~1.7% in the last two months of 2023. How does this affect real estate? As long-lived, fixed assets with inflation-protective characteristics, quality real estate can be viewed as an equivalent to TIPS plus a risk premium.

An Opportunity For REITs To Shine In 2024

Boston Properties

iShares CMBS ETF

Dynex Capital

Jones Lang LaSalle

iShares MBS ETF

Orchid Island Capital

U.S. equity markets notched another week of gains after a busy slate of economic data and corporate earnings results were broadly consistent with a "soft landing" trend for the domestic economy. Ahead of the Federal Reserve's first policy meeting of 2024, the FOMC's favored inflation gauge - Core PCE - showed a "2-handle" for the first time in nearly two years. Notching a series of record highs through the week, the S&P 500 advanced 1.2%, extending its impressive rally since late October to 12 of the past 13 weeks.

Fed Looms As Earnings Begin

After lagging equities for the past two years, REITs offer an attractive investment opportunity in 2024. Peaking or falling yields have historically been a catalyst for strong REIT market outperformance.

2024 Listed REITs Outlook

Real estate earnings season kicked into gear this week, and over the next month, we'll hear results from 175 equity REITs, 40 mortgage REITs, and dozens of housing industry companies. The sector with perhaps the most to gain from moderating inflation and a normalization in Fed monetary policy, REITs enter earnings season with upside momentum after a dismal eighteen-month stretch. Sentiment and macroeconomic conditions have improved significantly in the past quarter, fueled by several months of encouraging inflation data pointing once again towards a "soft landing" for the domestic economy.

REIT Earnings Preview: Animal Spirits Revived?

National Storage Affiliates Trust

Global Self Storage

Self-Storage REITs delivered incredible growth early in the pandemic driven by surging housing market activity, but have been victims to their own success of late amid a supply-driven cooldown. Robust double-digit rent growth and relatively low operational barriers to entry prompted a wave of new development, with a roughly 12% expansion in total supply expected between 2022 and 2024. This supply boom - twice the magnitude of the multifamily sector - has reignited fierce "storage wars" between competing facilities, which has led to double-digit dips in new lease rates since mid-2022.

Storage REITs: Victims Of Own Success

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust

The REIT sector closed the year out strong with a +11.40% total return in December, pushing into positive territory for the full year (+8.66%). Small cap REITs (+13.39%) outperformed in December. Large cap REITs (+9.55%) averaged a lower return than their smaller peers. 90.79% of REIT securities had a positive total return in December with 66.25% in the black for the full year.

The State Of REITs: January 2024 Edition

Apartment Income REIT Corp

Clipper Realty

Camden Property

Centerspace REIT

Elme Communities

Mid-America Apartment Communities

NexPoint Residential Trust

Apartment REITs were among the weakest-performing property sectors for a second-straight year in 2023 - lagging even the battered office sector - despite delivering another year of mid-single-digit earnings growth. Following two years of record-setting rent growth, residential rents decelerated in 2023 alongside a broader cooling of inflationary pressures, with multifamily rents seeing a particularly sharp cooldown amid supply headwinds. The wave of pandemic-era development - started at a time when rents were rising double-digits - resulted in a record year of new deliveries in 2023 with similarly elevated supply levels.

Apartment REITs: A Renter's Market

ICF does a decent job of covering the REIT landscape with only 30 holdings. Telecom tower REITs and datacenter REITs are expected to be resilient, while office and retail REITs face potential distress. The expense ratio of ICF is relatively high compared to other REIT ETFs, and we see outstanding issues with the inflation battle and cap rates close to historical averages.

ICF: Office And Retail Create Some Concern

Arlington Asset Investment

Arbor Realty Trust

ACRES Commercial Realty Corp.

Apple Hospitality REIT

Builders FirstSource

Americold Realty

Invesco Mortgage Capital

Annaly Capital

U.S. equity markets notched a fifth-straight week of gains as benchmark interest rates continued a decisive retreat after economic data and comments from Fed officials fueled bets on a pending pivot. Advancing for a fifth-straight week since dipping into "correction territory" at the end of October, the S&P 500 gained another 0.8% on the week, while Mid-Caps and Small-Caps gained 2%. Lifted by the rate retreat, real estate equities were again the leaders this week. The Equity REIT Index rallied 5.0% this week, extending their rebound since late-October to nearly 20%.

Pivot Pending

Alpine Global Premier Properties Fund

Cambria Global Real Estate ETF

First Trust Alerian Disruptive

Xtrackers International Real Estate ETF

iShares International Developed Real Estate ETF

CBRE Global Real Estate Income Fund

Nuveen Real Asset Income & Growth Fund

iShares Global REIT ETF

REIT index performance can be a leading indicator for the asset class as a whole. Our latest Asset Allocation recorded a strong quarter for listed real estate, showing signs of long-awaited resurgence. REITs send encouraging signals. A deeper analysis of sectoral returns since the Great Financial Crisis reveals no clear pattern, vindicating broad sectoral exposure.

Listed Real Estate: Searching For Positive Signals While Reviewing The Case For REITs

REITs averaged a -5.31% total return in October and have now fallen to a double-digit negative total return year to date (-10.46%). Large cap REITs (-2.24%) outperformed their smaller peers in October. Micro caps (-11.32%) extended their streak of severe underperformance. 26.80% of REIT securities had a positive total return in October with just 25.00% in the black year to date.

The State Of REITs: November 2023 Edition

Brookfield Asset Management

Major private equity groups are investing in the REIT sector. They are buying apartment REITs at 60-70 cents on the dollar. So am I and here's why.

I Am Buying Apartment REITs Hand Over Fist

Cherry Hill Mortgage

Federal Realty Investment Trust

Gaming and Leisure Properties

AG Mortgage Investment Trust

U.S. equity markets continued their November rally into the Thanksgiving week, while benchmark interest rates held steady around two-month lows as investors weighed easing geopolitical tensions alongside mixed economic data. Gaining for a fourth straight week since dipping into "correction territory" at the end of October, the S&P 500 gained another 1.0% this week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.9%. Following a nearly 5% surge in the prior week, real estate equities also finished modestly higher this week. The Equity REIT Index advanced another 0.8%, but Mortgage REITs slipped 0.2%.

A November To Remember

Lument Finance Trust

U.S. equity markets extended their rebound to a third-straight week as benchmark interest rates dipped on economic data and corporate earnings reports showing a more distinct cooldown in economic activity. Gaining for a third-straight week and extending its rebound to nearly 10% since dipping into "correction territory" at the end of October, the S&P 500 gained another 2.4% this week. Lifted by the retreat in benchmark interest rates, real estate equities have roared back to life over the past three weeks. Equity REITs and Mortgage REITs each gained another 4.7%.

Disinflation Is Back

The S&P 500 has massively outperformed REITs in recent years. But we expect this outperformance to soon reverse. I explain why I expect REITs to easily beat the S&P 500 going forward.

Why REITs Will Likely Pummel The S&P 500

News for iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF ETF (ICF)