Media Briefs Blog

The Free-Standing Retail, Data Centers and Shopping Center property sectors led the overall REIT market in total returns in January. The six Free-Standing REITs delivered a 7.61 percent total return for the month; the six Data Center companies delivered a 3.79 percent total return; and the 18 Shopping Center REITs gained 2.99 percent.

REITs continued to reward income-seeking investors in the first month of 2016. At Jan. 31, the dividend yield of the FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index was 4.47 percent, and the dividend yield of the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index was 4.00 percent. The FTSE NAREIT Mortgage REITs Index posted a dividend yield of 12.78 percent in January. In comparison, the Jan. 31 dividend yield of the S&P 500 was 2.34 percent.

NAREIT is disappointed with the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s final Federal Home Loan Bank membership rule excluding captive insurers from membership. We note that the FHFA acknowledged a well-known fact, that “mortgage real estate investment trusts (REITs) play an important role in the residential mortgage market.”  

Stock exchange-listed REITs raised a total of $59.29 billion in public capital in 2015, compared with $63.64 billion raised in 2014.  The FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index grew to 223 REITs with a combined equity market capitalization of $939 billion at year end 2015, up from 216 REITs with a combined market capitalization of $907 billion at the end of 2014. 

The Self-Storage and Residential property sectors led the overall REIT market in total returns in 2015. Self-Storage sector delivered a 40.65 percent total return for the year; Manufactured Homes delivered a 25.65 percent total return; and Apartments gained 16.45 percent.

REITs continued to reward income-seeking investors in 2015.  At December 31, the dividend yield of the FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index was 4.30 percent, and the dividend yield of the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index was 3.85 percent.  The FTSE NAREIT Mortgage REITs Index posted a dividend yield of 12.15 percent at year-end.  

Stock exchange-listed REITs outperformed the broader U.S. equity market in 2015.  Additionally, in a year in which large-cap stocks outperformed mid- and small-caps, large-cap REITs outperformed other large-cap equities.  REITs also outperformed small-cap growth and value stocks, financials, utilities, global stocks and hedge funds.

According to NAREIT, the FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index, the broadest benchmark of the listed U.S. REIT industry that includes both Equity and Mortgage REITs, delivered a total return of 2.29 percent in 2015. The FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index produced a total return of 2.83 percent for the year, while the total return of the FTSE NAREIT Mortgage REITs Index fell 8.88 percent. In comparison, the S&P Composite 1500, which, like the REIT market, includes large-, mid- and small-cap stocks, returned 1.01 percent.