The Market Commentary blog on reit.com presents analysis of the macro- and micro-economic fundamentals impacting the REIT and commercial real estate industry. The Nareit economics team offers their commentary on the state of the market, the outlook for commercial real estate and breaking macroeconomic news. The opinions set forth here are solely those of its author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Nareit or its membership.
Tracking the Expanding Global Real Estate Universe
FTSE EPRA Nareit indices offer exposure to new and emergent property sectors.
REITs Typically Post Positive Returns in Rising and Falling Interest Rate Environments
Rising interest rates worry real estate investors. Their fears are rooted in the view that interest rate increases will result in rising cap rates and, all else being equal, declining property values.
What We Have Learned from 25 Years of CRE and REIT Performance Data
REITs are real estate with attractive performance attributes. In research sponsored by Nareit, CEM Benchmarking took a comprehensive look at investment allocations and realized investment performance across 12 asset classes over a 25-year period (1998–2022) using a dataset covering more than 200 U.S public- and private-sector pensions with $4.1 trillion in combined assets under management (AUM).
REITs: An Accessible Way to Invest in Commercial Real Estate for a Broad Range of U.S. Families
There is a high barrier to entry to invest directly in commercial property and most U.S. families do not invest in commercial property unless they have significant financial resources, according to data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF).
REIT Sharpe Ratios Closely Follow Sector Performance Trends
Investors use Sharpe ratios as a simple measure of risk adjusted return or, put differently, return per unit of risk.
Global Real Estate Rose in January, Led by Developed Asia Outperformance
The FTSE EPRA Nareit Developed Extended and Developed Indexes each rose 1.8% in the first month of 2025, led by industrial, timberland, and health care.
REITs Historically Outperform in Different Interest Rate Environments
Historical data show that, on average, real estate has enjoyed solid total returns across different interest rate regimes with REITs consistently outperforming their private market counterparts.
REITs Post Narrow Gains in January, Led by Industrial, Timberland, Health Care Sectors
REITs posted positive returns to begin 2025 as the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index rose 1.0% in January.
REITs Earn Top GRESB Scores, Led by Office Sector
GRESB, the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark, has released its 2024 data on environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and good governance for real estate.
REITs Raised $12.5 Billion Through Secondary Offerings, IPOs in 2024: Q4
U.S. REITs raised $12.5 billion from secondary debt and equity offerings in the fourth quarter of 2024.
REITs Gain 4.9% in 2024 as December Headwinds Trim Earlier Gains
Specialty, data centers, health care REITs led returns in 2024.
REITs Climbed in November, But Face Headwinds in December
In November, the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index gained back most of the ground lost in the previous month, posting a total return of 3.5%.