Media brief

In a new, 17-year study of asset performance at 200 major pension funds, REITs were the top performing asset, with 12 percent average annual returns.  They also had the lowest allocation, at 0.6 percent of total fund assets.

Over the two market days following the Brexit vote, U.S. stock market volatility more than doubled, from 9.9 percent (below its inter-quartile range) to 22.0 percent (above its IQR)—but U.S. REIT market volatility only nudged up from 9.6 percent to 10.9 percent.

REITs continued to attract yield-seeking investors in the first half of the year.  The FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index provided a dividend yield of 3.97 percent on June 30.  The FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index provided a dividend yield of 3.59 percent, and the FTSENAREIT Mortgage REITs Index’s dividend yield was 10.87 percent.  In comparison, the dividend yield of the S&P 500 was 2.17 percent.

Data Centers were the top performing Equity REIT property segment in the first six months of 2016 with a 37.82 percent total return.  Free Standing Retail, which consists of retail facilities occupied by a single tenant, was the second best performing segment with a 34.46 percent gain.

Stock exchange-listed U.S. REITs extended their lead in total returns over the broader equity market in June and the first half of 2016. The FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index, the broadest benchmark of the listed U.S. REIT industry containing both Equity and Mortgage REITs, delivered a total return of 6.68 percent in June and 13.65 percent in the first six months of 2016. 

It takes a lot of real estate to make your cell phone, social media platforms and office network function. That real estate is increasingly owned by REITs. 

The recovery in commercial real estate markets for the past several years has been uneven and often disappointing, much like the economy as a whole. 

Investment real estate values increased by +0.57 percent during May 2016 according to the FTSE NAREIT PureProperty® Index Series, which provides the earliest measurement of changes in the market values of properties held for investment purposes. 

Single-Family Homes, one of the newest segments of the Equity REIT market, has shown strong growth this year, delivering an 11.74 percent total return through May. 

REITWeek, NAREIT’s annual investor forum, is the REIT industry’s largest investor conference. This year’s REITWeek, held June 7 – 9 in New York had a record attendance of nearly 3,000, as investors, analysts and media gathered to meet with the top management teams of more than 200 REITs. Here are key takeaways from this year’s conference.

Ten Equity REIT property segments exceeded the 6.32 percent total return of the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index in the first five months of 2016, with five segments delivering double-digit returns.

The U.S. REIT market outperformed the broader equity market in May and the first five months of the year. The FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index, the broadest measure of the U.S. REIT market including both Equity REITs and Mortgage REITs, delivered a total return of 2.34 percent in May and 6.53 percent for the year through May 31.