The FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index rose 2.4% in July, extending its year-to-date total return to 17.7%. Broader equity markets declined over the month, with the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index falling 0.5% and the Russell 1000 Index declining 0.4%. On a year-to-date basis, publicly traded U.S. REITs have substantially outperformed equities, with the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index gaining 10.5% and the Russell 1000 Index up 9.9%.
Geopolitical uncertainty due to the conflict in the Middle East remains an unavoidable backdrop, with periods of outright violence interspersed with periods of relative calm, and no clarity regarding a long-term solution to the crisis. While the Federal Reserve kept rates steady at the July meeting, some investors are anticipating the possibility of rate hikes as core inflation has remained stubbornly above the central bank’s target range. The 10-year Treasury climbed 25 basis points in July to end the month at 4.69%. The dividend yield on the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index stood at 3.68% at month-end and the FTSE Nareit Mortgage REITs Index offered a dividend yield of 12.75%, while the S&P 500 yielded a mere 1.03%.
As reflected in the chart above, property sector performance through July remains broadly positive, with most sectors posting strong double-digit gains year-to-date. Lodging/resorts continues to lead all property sectors with a year-to-date total return of 48.6%, followed by specialty at 35.6%, and data centers at 33.0%.
The table above summarizes the complete performance of the FTSE Nareit U.S. Real Estate Index Series, reflecting the broad outperformance of REITs in 2026. In addition to the top three sectors, health care, self-storage, and retail have each more than doubled performance in the broader market, with respective returns of 24.6%, 23.5%, and 22.5% on a year-to-date basis. Industrial led in July with a return of 6.1%, followed by telecommunications at 4.1%, and lodging/resorts at 4.0%. Residential, gaming, and data centers lagged in July, returning -1.6%, -0.4%, and -0.1%, respectively. Office REITs, which gained 3.6% in July, posted a notable turnaround in 2026, extending year-to-date returns to 16.5% following a 14.0% decline in 2025.
The FTSE Nareit Mortgage REITs Index declined 1.6% in July, bringing year-to-date total returns to 0.8%. Performance within the sector remains bifurcated: home financing mREITs were essentially flat with a 0.1% decline in July but maintain a positive 5.0% total return year-to-date, while commercial financing mREITs declined 6.5% in July, with a year-to-date return of -11.7%.