Market Commentary

The additions, deletions and classification changes will be applied on Friday, Mar. 18, 2022.

Historically, REITs have performed well during periods of rising long-term interest rates with average four-quarter return in periods with rising rates of 16.55% compared to 10.68% in non-rising rate periods from the first quarter of 1992 to the fourth quarter of 2021.

Over 3.4 million workers who had gone back to telecommuting during January were back in the office in February

REITs have outperformed private real estate property and fund indexes through the fourth quarter of 2021 and have an annual increase of 41.3% in 2021 compared to 22.2% for private real estate.

REIT earnings, as measured by funds from operations (FFO), rose 24.6% in the full year 2021 as the recovery from the early stages of the pandemic gained momentum.

There are currently 41 countries and regions, accounting for 85% of global GDP with a combined population of nearly 5 billion people, that have enacted REIT legislation.

The 2022 Pensions & Investments annual survey of pension plans found that REIT assets in the largest 200 U.S. retirement plans grew 22% to $34.2 billion during the year.

For the second quarter of 2021, REITs made up an estimated 9.4% of the total CRE market.

U.S. REITs raised more than $126 billion from IPOs and secondary debt and equity offerings in 2021, a new record for annual capital raising.

Solid macroeconomic fundamentals are good news for commercial real estate and REITs, as a growing economy generates increased demand for leased commercial space.

Robust demand from tenants contributed to declining vacancy rates across most property types, and faster rent growth.

REITs fell sharply in January 2022 as the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 Pandemic persisted and the Federal Reserve indicated its readiness to tighten monetary policy.