Rates Socked it to Mortgage REITs in Q2: SNL

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA-Mortgage REITs’ book values took a shellacking in the second quarter amid the volatile market for mortgage-backed securities, although commercial mortgage REITs got off relatively lightly, according to SNL Financial data. In fact, in the case of Starwood Property Trust, book value actually rose 5.3% during the quarter.

One reason, SNL’s Rodger Nayak and Dhavel Patel point out in an analysis of Q2 results, is that the Starwood REIT has relatively little exposure to rising interest rates. And rates rose more rapidly during 70 days of Q2 and early July than they did in the 1980s, when the 10-year Treasury climbed 66% over a 450-day period.