The State Of REITs: August 2026 Edition

REITs snapped a 3-month winning streak with a -0.49% average total return in July. Mid-cap (+2.12%) and large-cap REITs (+1.48%) continued to perform well, but small caps (-0.81%) and especially micro caps (-9.49%) struggled. 59.06% of REIT securities had a positive total return in July. 44.44% of REIT property types averaged positive returns, led by Malls (+5.24%) and Timber (+3.45%), while Infrastructure (-8.65%) and Shopping Centers (-4.30%) fell.

The average REIT NAV discount narrowed slightly from -8.60% to -8.43% during July. The median NAV discount also narrowed from -10.56% to -9.44%.

After strong gains during each month of the 2nd quarter, REITs dropped back slightly in July with an average return of -0.49%. REITs outperformed the NASDAQ (-3.2%) but fell short of the S&P 500 (-0.1%) and the Dow.