With a few notable exceptions — the month had strong performances by the self-storage and infrastructure sectors — equity REITs underperformed the broader stock market in May and remain down 21.1 percent through the first five months of the year. The FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index returned 0.2 percent in May; by comparison, the S&P 500 Index returned 4.5 percent for the month and has regained most of the ground lost during the market collapse in March amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Self-storage and infrastructure REITs both saw strong gains, rising 9.8 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively. Self-storage property is seen as defensive amid economic uncertainty, while infrastructure REITs provide much-needed internet connectivity.
Lodging and resort REITs may have found a bottom in May; hotel performance was virtually flat in the month with a return of 0.1 percent. Year-to-date, hotel REITs are down 45.7 percent. But the sector continues to face challenges amid the p
