REIT Index Trailed S&P 500 in 2016, But Some Sectors Outperformed the Mkt.

2016 was a great year for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) representing specific property sectors, according to REIT.com. Looking at returns, the best performing REITS by sector in 2016 were:

  • Industrial REITs:  30.7%;
  • Single-Family REITs:  26.7%;
  • Data Center REITs:  26.4%;
  • Lodging REITs:  24.3%; and
  • Mortgage REITs:  22.9%

However, the overall  FTSE/NAREIT All REIT Index posted a total return of only 9.3% for the entire year, while the S&P 500 saw a total return of 12%.

In addition to the property indices representing the returns to unlevered property investments, the FTSE/NAREIT All REIT Index measures returns of diversified portfolios of unlevered properties in the Apartment, Health Care, Hotel, Industrial, Office and Retail sectors; for the East, Midwest, South and West regions of the United States; and for 11 region/property type combinations, and also includes equity indices measuring the investment returns to properties through the balance sheets of the REITs holding them.