Nareit: REITs Return 35% for 2006

WASHINGTON, DC-The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts reports that 2006 was another excellent year for REITs, with the primary US REIT index delivering a total return of 34.4%. It was the seventh year in a row this index outperformed all other major US equity market benchmarks, according to Nareit’s projections.

Brad Case, vice president of Research and Industry Information for Nareit, tells GlobeSt.com that REITs seven-year track record is the more significant development. “The real story is not what happened with REITs last year but what has happened to investors that have put their money in REITs for the last 30 years.” He cites a hypothetical example in which an investor had put $10,000 in the FTSE Nareit All REITs Index the year President Gerald Ford left the White House. “Today it would be worth roughly $435,000. By contrast if that investor had put $10,000 in an S&P Index today it would be worth around $340,000.”

Case says REITs performed well last year across all categories. The office segment delivered the highest returns, according to Nareit data, at 45.2%. It was followed by healthcare, at 44.6%; self-storage at 41%; and multifamily at 40%.