Economic Analysis Suggests that REIT Investment Characteristics are Not as Advertised

Abstract

Executive Summary. Commercial real estate is a cyclical asset with partial inflation-hedging characteristics. The inflation-hedging characteristics can account for the observed long-term appreciation in institutional-grade real estate value over the last two decades. Investment characteristics of regulated investment companies are shaped by two sets of economic attributes: investment portfolio characteristics and legal constraints on the companies. Both sets of real estate investment trust (REIT) attributes differ from corresponding attributes of regulated funds that invest in corporate securities. Analysis of the REIT attributes suggests that REIT investment performance since industry inception has been more or less as could have been anticipated. Despite imminent regulatory changes, it also suggests that future REIT investment performance should be similar to performance in the recent past.