REITs Declined on Omicron Variant Concerns Last Week

REITs declined in a short trading week last week as concerns about the new omicron variant of COVID-19 weighed on all equity markets. The FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index was down 1.3% for the week, a more modest decline than the 2.3% drop in the Russell 1000.

Lodging/resort REITs lost 5.1% as the new variant damped hopes about the pace of recovery of travel volumes. Most other property sectors were down as well, with a -3.2% return on office REITs and -3.0% return for retail. Data centers and infrastructure REITs edged higher.

Mortgage REITs moved lower, with a return of -0.8% by home financing mREITs and -2.9% by commercial financing mREITs.