After earning investors trifling returns during 2013, U.S. REITs appear determined to redeem themselves this year and have gotten off to an impressive start. Through the first four months of this year, the FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index is up 11.7 percent, and the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index is up 11.8 percent, easily outdistancing the S&P 500 Index’s January through April gain of 2.6 percent.

Meanwhile, three more REITs have added themselves to the equity REITs family by going public this year and raising an aggregate $747 million. The lion’s share of those dollars, $644 million, were raked in by CBS Outdoor Americas, which completed its offering March 27. CBS Outdoor is a specialty REIT that invests in outdoor advertising.

A day later, Bluerock Residential Growth REIT closed its IPO so