U.S. real estate investment trusts (REITs) underperformed the broader equity market in November but outperformed it in the first 11 months of 2012 and in the 12 months ended Nov.30.
On a total return basis, the FTSE Nareit All REITs Index lost 0.64 percent in November and the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index lost 2.27 percent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.58%, said an announcement by Nareit.
For the first 11 months of the year, the FTSE Nareit All REITs Index was up 16.42 percent and the FTSE Nareit All Equity REIT was up 15.49 percent, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 14.96 percent.
Similarly for the 12 month period ended November 30, the FTSE Nareit All REITs Index was up 21.72 percent and the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index was up 21.03 percent, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 16.13 percent over the same period.
FTSE Nareit All REITs equity market capitalization totaled $580 billion and the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs equity market capitalization totaled $513 billion as of November 30. At the same time, REITs own approximately $850 billion in commercial real estate assets.
Among the sectors of the REIT market, timber was the top performer with a 33.84 percent return for the first 11 months of the year. Among the other equity REIT market sectors, retail was up 23.61 percent led by regional malls; industrial was up 22.57 percent; office was up 10.50 percent and apartments were up 2.64 percent.