Year-over-year FFO per share growth for the fourth quarter of 2000 averaged 8.3%. The year-over-year growth is based on 143 REITs and publicly trade real estate companies that reported earnings as of May 14. Earnings growth for large publicly traded real estate operating companies, which don't use FFO to determine performance, remained steady, according to NAREIT. They reported year-over-year average earnings per share growth of 11.5% for the first quartered, compared with 22.4% in the fourth quarter.

In contrast, NAREIT officials say that first quarter year-over-year growth for S&P 500 companies dropped 6.5% in average operating earnings per share. The S&P decline is based on earnings for 450 companies and estimates for the remaining 50.

Other key findings include the fact that more than 75% of REITs and publicly traded real estate companies either met or exceeded their estimates for the first quarter, and 43% reported exceeding earnings levels. According to NAREIT, 34% of reporting companies met estimates.

"First quarter earnings for REITs and publicly traded real estate companies significantly outperformed companies in the S&P 500, where profits are declining," says NAREIT senior vice president Michael R. Grupe, the association's research director. "Among equity REITs, the strongest performance was seen among the office, mixed industrial/office and specialty sectors, with those REITs reporting double-digit FFO per share growth, on average." Larger REITs--those in the top 20% of companies ranked by equity market capitalization--did best, posting earning-per-share growth of 13.1%.