A recovery in REIT earnings is well under way after the sharp decline that occurred during the shutdowns at the beginning of the pandemic. According to the Nareit Total REIT Industry Tracker Series (T-Tracker®) report released today, funds from operations (FFO) rose 11.3 percent to $13.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, recovering half of the decline that took place last spring. FFO rose among eight of the 12 REIT property sectors, including those sectors that support the digital economy. While FFO remains well below pre-pandemic levels — it was 16.0 percent lower in the fourth quarter than one year ago — there are distinct trends that show the paths forward for various sectors.
“Even before the vaccine rollout was fully under way, the REIT industry’s collective FFO had already recovered half its decline in the first half of last year. With broad distribution of COVID-19 vaccines on the horizon, REITs are poised for further gains in 2021,” said Ca
