Returns to shareholders also maintained their strength: NAREIT says the quarterly decline in the dollar amount for dividends paid by equity and mortgage REITs stemmed primarily from a large special dividend paid by a single REIT in Q4. Over 80% of listed REITs paid dividends equal or higher compared to Q4, says NAREIT.

“This real estate cycle shows all the signs that it will continue, despite some soft numbers last quarter,” says Calvin Schnure, SVP of research & economic analysis at NAREIT. “It's quite common for the macro economy and for the real estate sector to have slow periods in the middle of long expansions, and such times are often followed by a return to above-trend growth. High occupancy rates and steady growth of NOI provide support for the outlook for REITs.”

The NAREIT FFO Tracker measures reported FFO for REITs in the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index. Data from the NAREIT T-Tracker, including 1Q 2017 data, are now available on the Bloomberg terminal, under Bloomberg Intelligence/Financials/REITs/NAREIT Data.

WASHINGTON, DC—US REITs' aggregate funds from operations posted a 3.9% decline in the first quarter from 2016's strong quarterly finish, but posted a more substantial year-over-year gain. The mixed results on FFO were offset by gains in other operating metrics, including NOI and occupancy.

NAREIT's latest Total REIT Industry Tracker Series report shows Q1 FFO totaling $14.3 billion, up 8.1% Y-O-Y. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, NAREIT cites strong growth in FFO for the manufactured homes segment, which rose by 34.3% from Q4, as well as infrastructure (23.7%), lodging/resorts (10.4%), apartments (6.8%), office (5.1%) and healthcare (4%).

Occupancy rates for all listed equity REITs set a record high of 93.9% in the most recent quarter. The industry-wide average represented a 30-basis point uptick from the prior quarter and an increase of 84 bps on Q1 '16.

Also demonstrating sound performance among REITs, same-store NOI rose 3.7% Y-O-Y, an increase in line with Q4 '16. Performing even better than the industry average were data center REITs, up 8% Y-O-Y; single-family rental REITs, up 7.3%; and industrial REITs, up 5.9%. Total industry NOI was up 0.7% from Q4 and 7.7% from the year-ago period.

Returns to shareholders also maintained their strength: NAREIT says the quarterly decline in the dollar amount for dividends paid by equity and mortgage REITs stemmed primarily from a large special dividend paid by a single REIT in Q4. Over 80% of listed REITs paid dividends equal or higher compared to Q4, says NAREIT.

“This real estate cycle shows all the signs that it will continue, despite some soft numbers last quarter,” says Calvin Schnure, SVP of research & economic analysis at NAREIT. “It's quite common for the macro economy and for the real estate sector to have slow periods in the middle of long expansions, and such times are often followed by a return to above-trend growth. High occupancy rates and steady growth of NOI provide support for the outlook for REITs.”

The NAREIT FFO Tracker measures reported FFO for REITs in the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index. Data from the NAREIT T-Tracker, including 1Q 2017 data, are now available on the Bloomberg terminal, under Bloomberg Intelligence/Financials/REITs/NAREIT Data.