REITs outperform broader market in January

The year has started well for the REIT market, as the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index was up 3.31 percent in January, performing much better than the S&P 500 Index, which was down 3.46 percent in the month, and the NASDAQ Composite Index, which was down 1.74 percent. This was a positive sign for REITs in 2014 after the index posted three consecutive negative quarters to end 2013.

The January returns already exceed 2013’s total returns of 2.86 percent, with the index led by the manufactured homes and free-standing retail sectors, both of which returned 8.61 percent in the month. The sectors with the largest turnaround to start the year were apartments and healthcare. Apartments had January returns of 6.35 percent after a rough 2013 that saw the sector fall 6.20 percent. Healthcare REITs returned 8.06 percent in January after dropping 7.06 percent in 2013.

Industrial and office REITs returned 4.31 percent in January, after retuning 5.97 percent in 2