REITs Outperform Broader Market in February

REITs outperformed broader market equities in February 2026, led by data centers, specialty, and self-storage sector gains.

March 4, 2026

Nina Dale

REITs delivered a 7.5% total return in February, outpacing major stock indices.
Data centers, specialty, and self-storage sectors led year-to-date performance for REITs.
Dividend yields on REITs remain higher than the S&P 500 at 3.72% for all equity REITs.
Office sector and timberland continued to underperform, with notable declines in February.

Key Takeaways

REITs Outperformance in February

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) outpaced the broader markets in February 2026. The FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index achieved a 7.5% total return, while broader indices such as the Dow Jones US Total Stock Market and Russell 1000 both posted negative 0.5% returns during the month.

Chart showing US REIT property sector YTD total returns as of Feb. 27, 2026, with data centers (22.3%), specialty (21.8%), and self-storage (17.3%) leading performance while office (-11.7%) trails.

Year-to-date, All Equity REITs returned 10.5%, substantially higher than the 1.0% and 0.8% gains in the Dow Jones US Total Stock Market and Russell 1000, respectively. Investors faced continued uncertainty around AI sector impacts and capital expenditures by major tech firms, factors that weighed on general equity market sentiment.

Sector Leaders and Laggards

Among all REIT property sectors, data centers, specialty, and self-storage were February’s top performers. These sectors achieved total returns of 14.1%, 13.6%, and 10.3% in February and showed robust year-to-date gains of 22.3%, 21.8%, and 17.3%, respectively.

Table showing FTSE Nareit US real estate index performance by property sector with monthly returns from Oct. 2025 to Feb. 2026 and year-to-date 2026 results, led by data centers, specialty, and self-storage while office posted the largest decline.

The office sector remained under pressure, declining 9.7% in February. The weakness comes even as broader commercial property markets have recently shown signs of renewed transaction activity, with retail and office properties helping drive a sharp uptick in CRE sales volume earlier this year. Timberland also lagged, posting a 5.0% loss for the month. Most other REIT sectors ended the month in positive territory.

Yield Environment

Interest rates eased during February, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling 0.29% to close at 3.96%. REITs continued to offer attractive income, with the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index yielding 3.72% and the Mortgage REITs Index at 12.14%, notably higher than the S&P 500’s 1.10% yield.

Mortgage REIT performance was negative, with the FTSE Nareit Mortgage REITs Index falling 1.0% in February. Commercial financing declined 2.4%, and home financing receded by 0.4% for the month.