Landlord debt is rallying — even in the battered office sector

Debt issued by publicly traded commercial real-estate investment trusts (REITs) has been in rally mode to start 2024, even in the battered office sector.“Shopping centers were a four-letter word for a long time,” according to Alex Snyder, a portfolio manager who focuses on REITs at CenterSquare Investment Management. Now, in a post-pandemic remote-work environment, “office” is a dirty word, he noted.But as office-vacancy rates surge in many cities and landlords face higher borrowing costs, Snyder also sees ...