REITs Raise $60B YTD

WASHINGTON, DC-For the first ten months of the year, REITs have raised a total $59.53 billion in public equity and debt, according to NAREIT figures. That compares with a total of $51.28 billion raised for the entire year of 2011–the industry’s record year for capital raising. Indeed this theme of robust capital raising was on display at NAREIT’s REITWorld trade conference underway in San Diego, where panelists described some of the pros and cons of inexpensive debt.

On the flip side—that is, the returns REITs deliver to investors—the numbers are strong as well year-to-date. For the first ten months of the year, the FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index was up 17.17% and the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index was up 15.80%, compared to the S&P 500′s gain of 14.29%. As GlobeSt.com earlier reported, however, October was a lackluster month. On a total return basis, the FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index lost 0.33% in October and the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index lost 0.25%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.85%. Brad Case, NAREIT’s senior vice president of research and industry information, in a video interview earlier this month, attributed the decline to market qualms before the presidential election.