Warehouse, infrastructure owners buck sluggish REIT market
November 16, 2017 | Alex Veiga | AP Business Writer
While the broader stock market has been steadily racking up gains and posting new highs, companies that own real estate have been lagging, with some notable exceptions.
Losses by struggling mall and shopping center owners have weighed on real estate investment trusts, offsetting healthy gains by residential and industrial REITs. Rising interest rates, which can make REITs less attractive to dividend investors, haven’t helped.
“Part of REITs’ modest underperformance this year has been a function of the ongoing dialogue about rising interest rates,” said Mizuho REITs analyst Richard Anderson. “We’ve have also seen some fairly quick moves in the 10-year Treasury and that has coincided with REITs’ underperformance as people who are owning the REITs for their dividend yield seek a better option.”
