Publications

- Feburary 2010: Volume 22, Number 2

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REITs Say Hello to a New Year: A Good Buy in 2009, Maybe Less So in 2010

by Rachel Speirs

After three years of dismal returns and a near-death experience in early 2009, REITs ended the year on solid ground. For all of 2009, REITs on the FTSE NAREIT Equity REIT Index gained 28 percent, making a comeback after losing nearly 38 percent in 2008.

After bottoming out in early March, the FTSE NAREIT Equity REIT Index climbed 121.53 percent during the remainder of the year, and the All REITs Index climbed 113.85 percent, according to NAREIT. Nearly every major property sector recorded positive returns for the year, led by the lodging sector (up 67.19 percent) and regional malls (up 62.99 percent). Office REITs were up 35.55 percent; apartments were up 30.40 percent; and the industrial sector was up 12.17 percent. Home financing mortgage REITs were up 28.19 percent.

The 2009 REIT recovery was fueled, in signifi

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