Noting that December was a microcosm of the 2015, Case said the FTSE (Financial Times Stock Exchange)/ Nareit All Equity Index advanced 1.3 percent in the last month of the year, while the S&P 500 index fell 1.6 percent.
On the year, returns on the All Equity REIT Index gained 2.8 percent, according to what reit informs MHProNews, while the S&P 500 Index rose 1.4 percent.
Manufactured housing (MH), self storage and apartment REITS numbered among the outperformers last year, with MH REITS producing returns of over 25 percent. Case says this is because they offer a “professional operation that is really meeting the needs of its target demographic audience,” which is picked up by investors who see the financial results.
There was talk for much of 2015 about the increase in interest rates on investors, but Case says the increase represents an improving economy which is good for REIT investors.
“The truth is that REITs have brought down their use of leverage significantly. They are not as sensitive to rate increases. Most of their debt is fixed-rate, and holding that on their balance sheet as rates go up is a good thing,” Case said.
The MHProNews daily stock report, as seen here, routinely covers several MH REITs including Equity LifeStyle Properties, Killam Properties, Sun Communities and UMH Properties. ##
(Image credit: housingwire)
