Why is REITs dropping?
More than a year of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve pushed down returns on real estate investment trusts, or REITs. While higher rates negatively impacted nearly every sector of the economy in 2022 and most of 2023, real estate was hit especially hard.
This is because when interest rates rise, it becomes more expensive for Reits to borrow money to refinance their loans, resulting in an erosion of their dividends. On top of that, returns from yield products like fixed deposits and government Treasury bills were also on the rise, competing for investors' capital.
That's because when interest rates rise and yields balloon, their valuations tend to suffer, which is what happened after it became clear in 2021 that the U.S. Federal Reserve would embark on an aggressive, multiyear tightening campaign. Many REITs experienced declines of more than 50% after that point.
In fact, REIT total returns bounced back with impressive performance in the last quarter of 2023. Based on historical experience, the convergence of the wide valuation gap between public and private real estate will likely ensure continued REIT outperformance into 2024.
But despite that, most REITs have kept growing their dividend. Most of them hiked in 2022, 2023, and will hike again in 2024. This is the ultimate proof that REITs are doing better than what the market appears to believe.
There are three key reasons to invest in listed REITs right now, starting with the fact that REITs have outperformed stocks and bonds when yields and growth move lower. Demand is health while supply is constrained, and REIT valuations relative to the broader equity market are meaningfully below the historical median.
Although the higher cost of borrowing was a headwind, many segments of real estate investment trusts (REITs) continued to show strong fundamentals and supply-demand dynamics. 2024 could be a calmer year if interest rates level off and the pace of commercial real estate transactions normalizes.
But since REITs are invested in property, there's more protection against the horror show of having shares crash to $0. By law, 75% of a REITs asset must be invested in real estate. The market value of the property owned by the REIT offers a bit of protection, as long as the value of the property doesn't go to zero.
Some of the main risk factors associated with REITs include leverage risk, liquidity risk, and market risk.
What this means is that REITs are ideal borrowers for banks. They are exactly who they want to do business with because they know that the risk of a REIT bankruptcy is extremely low. Just look at the past. There have been very few REIT bankruptcies over the past 50+ years.
How are REITs expected to perform in 2024?
With healthy property fundamentals and a favorable interest rate environment, REIT fund managers expect the sector to deliver double digit returns this year.
In 2021 and 2022, amid a strong economy driven by cash-rich consumers, demand heavily outpaced supply across most sectors of commercial real estate. This spurred developers to start a huge slate of projects that began to come to market in 2023 and will continue over the course of 2024.
Because REITs use debt to purchase investments, rising interest rates could mean these companies would have to pay more interest on future loans. This could in turn reduce their return on investment. Because of this, REITs could potentially lose value when interest rates rise.
REITs historically rebound when interest rates pivot and have the potential for rent growth. Realty Income, Agree Realty, VICI Properties, Essential Properties Trust, and American Tower are strong picks for long-term growth and income.
CORE FFO PER SHARE | 3-YEAR | 5-YEAR |
---|---|---|
REIT average | 8% | 7% |
S&P 500 average | 11% | 11% |
DIVIDEND PER SHARE | 3-YEAR | 5-YEAR |
Prologis | 14% | 12% |
Are REITs Good Investments? Investing in REITs is a great way to diversify your portfolio outside of traditional stocks and bonds and can be attractive for their strong dividends and long-term capital appreciation.
Risks of investing in REITs include higher dividend taxes, sensitivity to interest rates, and exposure to specific property trends.
REITs provide natural protection against inflation. Real estate rents and values tend to increase when prices do. This supports REIT dividend growth and provides a reliable stream of income even during inflationary periods.
REIT Stock Performance and the Interest Rate Environment
Over longer periods, there has generally been a positive association between periods of rising rates and REIT returns. This is because rising rates generally reflect improvement in the underlying fundamentals.
REITs historically perform well during and after recessions | Pensions & Investments.
What I wish I knew before investing in REITs?
A lot of REIT investors focus too way much on the dividend yield. They think that a high dividend yield implies that a REIT is cheap and a good investment opportunity. In reality, it is often the opposite, and the dividend does not say much, if anything, about the valuation of a REIT.
"Both public and non-public REIT investments should be considered long-term, and that could mean different things to different folks, but in general, investors who typically invest in REITs look to hold them for a minimum of three years, and some of them could hold them for 10+ years," Jhangiani explained.
Non-traded REITs have little liquidity, meaning it's difficult for investors to sell them. Publicly traded REITs have the risk of losing value as interest rates rise, which typically sends investment capital into bonds.
In most cases, REITs utilize a combination of debt and equity to purchase a property. As such, they are more sensitive than other asset classes to changes in interest rates., particularly those that use variable rate debt. When interest rates rise, REITs share prices can be prone to volatility.
REITs. When interest rates are falling, dependable, regular income investments become harder to find. This benefits high-quality real estate investment trusts, or REITs. Strictly speaking, REITs are not fixed-income securities; their dividends are not predetermined but are based on income generated from real estate.
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