The State Of REITs: January 2026 Edition

REIT Performance REITs finished 2025 in the red with a -1.48% December total return. REITs underperformed the broader market, falling short of slightly stronger returns from the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.92%), S&P 500 (+0.06%) and NASDAQ (-0.09%). The market cap weighted Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) fell short of the average REIT in December (-2.24% vs. -1.48%), but substantially outperformed over the full year (+3.26% vs. -3.57%). The spread between the 2026 FFO multiples of large cap REITs (15.9x ...