WASHINGTON, DC—In what otherwise was a “very representative” year for publicly traded REITs, one metric was exceptional. That was the tally of debt and equity that REITs raised in the public markets last year. Nareit said Tuesday that at $92.14 billion, 2017's equity raises were 20% greater than the previous high water mark of $77 billion established in 2013.

Equity raised in '17 included $2.92 billion from nine initial public offerings, $27.48 billion in secondary offerings of common shares and $10.97 billion in preferred shares. REITs also raised a record $50.77 billion in unsecured debt in '17, surpassing the previous record of $37.26 billion that was set just a year earlier.

REITs used the proceeds from the bond offerings primarily to replace previously issued debt. The industry's debt ratio (total debt divided by total market capitalization) declined slightly to 31.7% at year's end, compared to 32.1% in 2016.