REITs Outpace Broader Market With Strong April Returns

In a strong bounce back month, FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index total returns rose 9.0% in April and were up 13.1% for the year as of April 30. Overall, REITs have outpaced the broader equities market, consistent with a 2026 outlook that projected REITs would narrow a divergence that had emerged with broader equities markets. 

Year-to-date, as of April 30, the REIT gain was more than double the 5.5% for the Russell 1000. 

It has not been a smooth ride, however, as the U.S. war on Iran introduced a new bout of market volatility. The equity REIT index total returns were up 10.5% for the year when the U.S. attacked Iran in late February. Then, the total returns fell 6.1% from that point through the end of March, before the 9.0% rise in April. 

Among individual property sectors, data center REITs continue to skyrocket, with total returns up 39.8% year-to-date. Most other sectors are within a few basis points of the overall 13.1% increase. Exceptions include residential REITs (including apartment, single-family-rental and manufactured housing REITs), up just 2.1% as a group year-to-date. Office REIT total returns, meanwhile, are down 5.2% year-to-date, although were up 13.6% in April. 

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The overall market volatility has also played a role in slowing REIT capital raising to date in 2026. REITs have raised approximately $10 billion in 2026 (excluding at-the-market issuance), a $2.2 billion decrease compared with the same period in 2025. Of that, $6.3 billion came from debt offerings, $2.4 billion came from common equity offerings, and $340 million came from preferred equity offerings. 

The REIT IPO activity, however, which has been slow for some time, has showed some signs of life with one nearly $1 billion IPO taking place in March for a healthcare REIT with two other IPOs announced for this year, including Blackstone’s plan for a $1.74 billion data center REIT IPO. 

Wealth Management spoke with Ed Pierzak, senior vice president of research at Nareit, and John Worth, executive vice president for research and investor outreach, about REIT total returns to date in 2026. 

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

WM: Can you start with REIT total returns after a strong April, and what’s the story been year-to-date?

Ed Pierzak: We started the year with an optimistic outlook. Then we had an unexpected event and the market reaction, after that, a market bounce back. There are some similarities to the beginning of 2025, where it started strong, and then we saw the new tariffs. However, the reactions have been very different. 

Related:Q&A: Bolstered by Strong Fundamentals, REITs Close Gap with Broader Equities Market

Through the pre-conflict period, REITs were doing quite well. There was a delta of almost 10% between the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index and the Russell 1000. When we started 2026, we were talking about a dual divergence that REITs were participating in. One of those was with the broad equity market. Valuation multiples for the broad equity market soared, while REITs had somewhat remained flat. That left a divergence. And, as the story goes historically, as those divergences close, you have REIT relative outperformance. That’s what we were looking at.

Then, as we moved on through the end of March, almost every market went negative. Then in April, everything bounced back. 

The cumulative result is that when we compare the REIT index to the Russell 100, we’re looking at a delta of almost 8%. The relative outperformance has held, despite the market volatility.

WM: And it looks like generally performance has been strong across property sectors. What are some of the takeaways by sector?

EP: Data centers are clearly a top performer. And Specialty REITs continue to do pretty well. One constituent in specialty REITs that had been driving performance has now transitioned to the data center category. But there are still other strong segments, for example, billboard REITs have been doing quite well.

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WM: It also appears lodging and resorts have been relatively strong to date in 2026, which seems somewhat surprising given the pressures we may see on travel with higher oil prices and higher plane ticket prices. 

John Worth: That has been a little surprising. They have shown resiliency. Part of it is that that sector had a tough last couple of years, and valuations going into 2026 were pretty attractive after two years of negative returns. In their last quarterly earnings, they reported strong performance, which helped with some of the uplift.

WM: So, to some extent, it’s a longer-term story of recovery coming off a low point vs. the market ignoring some of these potential new headwinds.

JW: Yes. 

Also, to me, one of the points Ed has made is that it’s quite interesting that last year we had a good start, a major disruption with tariffs, and then REITs never really recovered while the broad equity market went on a tear. This year, it’s been a different story where REITs have maintained their outperformance despite a major disruption.

If you compare PE ratios, we’ve gone from a spread of over 1.25 to down to 1.09. But even though we’re getting to that equilibrium, it’s still a potential entry point. There’s most gas in the tank. And historically, sometimes these things can overshoot, so it may drop down below 1.0. 

If you’re a long-term strategic investor, it’s still an attractive entry point.

WM: Is the story consistent globally for public REITs?

JW: While we have seen the U.S. roaring back in April, in developed Europe and Asia, it’s not nearly to the degree as the U.S. 

Pre-invasion, all three regions were up about 11% for the year. Today, the U.S. is up 14%, but developed Asia is up just 3.3% and developed Europe about 1.0%. The resiliency is more focused in the U.S. due to the overall macro picture. The U.S. is slightly more insulated from the fuel price shock, and we’re seeing that play out in global portfolios.

WM: As far as the other divergence you’ve talked about—comparing with private real estate—has there been any movement so far in 2026?

EP: REIT total returns have been good, so we could potentially see the implied cap rate coming down. But I have a sense on the private side, as far as appraisal cap rates, that we’re unlikely to see a lot of movement. So we could be closing the gap a little, but it remains fairly wide. As it sits today, it’s 138 basis points, so it still presents an opportunity.

WM: You also recently published a look at capital raising so far in 2026 for REITs. What are the takeaways there?

JW: On a year-to-date basis, it’s been quiet. We didn’t see a tremendous amount of secondary debt issued. That speaks to the balance sheet strength of REITs because they tend to have a long weighted average term to maturity. They are not getting forced into markets, and so when the 10-year Treasury rate spikes, as it has done recently, they can step away. I expect we will see capital markets activity tick up as things get calmer and could see substantial issuance later in the year. 

We also had one IPO take place and a couple more in the queue. Two are healthcare, and one is a data center IPO. We are starting to see some new REITs coming to the market, particularly in sectors that have seen strong equity performance. 

One was a listed healthcare REIT that spun off its senior housing portfolio into a new REIT to give investors clarity on its two portfolios. Another is a healthcare REIT that had been on-traded and is going public. The third is Blackstone listing a data center REIT to build a cash pool to go out and acquire data centers. 

In all, this shows confidence in the broader REIT market. And it’s taking place in sectors that have performed well, which is typically where we see equity raising.