Don’t Put All Your Eggs in the Stock Market Basket
(Thanks for putting up with my Easter pun.) As a real estate investor, it’s time for a “feel good” reminder:
Commercial Real Estate (CRE) represents an attractive asset class.
Here are a few of the obvious reasons for some reinforcement:
– Inflation Protection (with contractual rent increases, CRE can offer the perfect inflationary hedge
– Long-Term Capital Appreciation (according to the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries or NCREIF, CRE returns have outperformed the S&P 500 since the late 1970’s – ignoring the correction of property values in 2008-09)
– Low Return Volatility (CRE can lead to more predictable, recurring cash flows – especially well-located properties having a stable roll-over schedule of creditworthy tenants on longer-term leases)
– Diversification (CRE returns generally have a low correlation to stock and bond returns)
And for those of you who just can’t stay out of the stock market… Although 2013 was an exceptional year for the S&P 500 (32.7% return), equity REIT’s in 2014 are likely to outperform last year’s abysmal 2.7% return. The threat of interest rate increases weighed heavily on the REIT sector in 2013, but these returns should improve with the focus now leaning on company earnings – which should lead to additional demand for space in markets with limited supply.