REIT Industry News

Jonathan Morris, adjunct professor in Georgetown University's Master's of Real Estate program and a former REIT executive, believes the continued success and evolution of the REIT industry highlights the need to enhance the level of understanding of the REIT structure and what makes it work so well.

This PERE article by Arshiya Khullar describes in detail a shift by major or Joan funds to listed REITs away from private platforms. The unprecedented events of the past year have spurred greater interest in listed real estate and have given further weight to arguments by institutional investors for a greater exposure to real estate equities today. Karsten Kallevig, special advisor to the chief executive at Norwegian sovereign wealth fund steward Norges Bank Investment Management, said during an interview, "The listed world is getting more and more important for bigger institutions.

As the world approaches the one-year mark from the onslaught of the COVID-19 global pandemic, a new paradigm, Work-From-Home ("WFH”), looms large. Office REITs have been hit hard as they remain vacant for the longest duration of the pandemic and find tenants working from their homes, NOT the office. This article, by Alex Pettee, CFA president of Hoya Capital Real Estate (and a REIT Academy Advisory Board member) argues that the pre-existing trends of workplace efficiency and technology disruption have been accelerated by COVID-19.

NAREIT, the national REIT membership association, emphasizes the importance of equity REITs to the US economy by displaying them numerically. Approximately $3.5 trillion in gross real estate assets are owned by both public and private REITs, which significantly affects and contributes to the overall tax receipts base, the livelihood of each city & community, and the domestic job market. REITs classified using leading standards are included in the total market capitalization of the FTSE Nareit All REITs Index (including mREITs).

This article by David Auerbach (a REIT Academy Advisory Board member) and Mary Jensen demystifies what every REIT investor should know to "get it right with REITs” - from focusing on the secondary REIT sectors to explaining the drivers behind single-family rental REITs' exquisite performance in 2020. Similarly, data center and cell tower REITs, as well as industrial REITs, had a blast in 2020. Read the article for more details.

Global economic shutdowns due to the pandemic exposed some major performance differences between REIT sectors. This article discusses how important LEASE TERM is - short & long - and the different risk levels that arise for each. The bottom line: all REIT investors should be aware of these critically important key factors.

NAREIT looks at external cause of the 2020 recession, which differentiates it from the past economic downturns. The current recession was triggered by the extreme measures put in place due to the pandemic, such as business shutdowns, travel restrictions and social distancing. This article analyzes macroeconomic, commercial real estate, as well as REITs for 2021.

Equity REITs experienced a hit in 2020 on rents, occupancies and stock prices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This Barron's article argues this will have a detrimental long-term impact on REIT valuations for the mall, office, and retail strip shopping center sectors. Moreover, the sectors which are most likely to benefit from a COVID-19 vaccine are gaming, lodging, and net lease. Find much more data in the article related to each REIT sector and Barron's own outlook for the year ahead.