It has been three years since we published our September 2023 REIT Outlook titled ‘Warren Buffett Should Buy the Cell Tower REITs’.  In the three years from September 1, 2023, to August 31, 2026, the straight average total return of the three cell tower REITs was -3.8%, or a disappointing -1.4% annualized.  This compares to […]

Following two years of underperformance, lodging REITs surged to the top property type of 2026.  Part of the strength reflects improving industry fundamentals.  Accordingly, Smith Travel Research revised its 2026 US revenue per available room, or RevPAR, forecast from +0.6% in the February release to +2.8% in the June 2026 release.  The upgrade owed little […]

In the second quarter, the Chilton REIT Composite outperformed the VNQ by producing a total return of +11.8% gross of fees and +11.6% net of fees, which compares to the VNQ’s total return of +9.7%.  Year to date, the Chilton REIT Composite has outperformed the VNQ by producing a total return of +15.5% gross of […]

Since the inception of the Chilton REIT strategy in 2005, we have used the MSCI US REIT Index (Bloomberg: RMZ) as our primary benchmark.  However, the REIT landscape has evolved over those 21 years, and so has our investment universe.  Due to the lack of inclusion of several new sectors into the RMZ, including cell […]

AI’s rapid evolution is producing substantial productivity gains, and we fully expect gains to continue.  The expectation for exponential growth into perpetuity is driving volatility across the broader market, but, more importantly, we are seeing the early stages of a rotation into HALO asset classes (Heavy Assets, Low Obsolescence, introduced by Josh Brown on CNBC).  […]

In the early 1990s, the Modern REIT Era commenced due to the abundance of overleveraged private real estate companies with no path to new equity other than to ‘sell’ shares to the public at a price below their perceived value.  To quote Chilton REIT Strategy founder Bruce Garrison, “they had to decide whether they wanted […]

In the first quarter, the Chilton REIT Composite underperformed the RMZ by producing a total return of +3.4% gross of fees and +3.3% net of fees, which compares to the RMZ’s total return of +4.8%.  However, the Chilton REIT Composite outperformed the Vanguard Real Estate Index (VNQ), our secondary benchmark, that produced a total return […]

In the fourth quarter, the Chilton REIT Composite performed in line with the RMZ by producing a total return of -1.6% gross of fees and -1.7% net of fees, which compares to the RMZ’s total return of -1.7%.  For the full year of 2025, the Chilton REIT Composite also performed relatively in line with the […]

While underlying fundamentals are improving across most property types, REITs (measured by the MSCI US REIT Index (Bloomberg: RMZ)) underperformed the S&P 500 for the fourth straight year in 2025.  With technology stealing headlines due to the incredible potential of AI, investor interest in public REITs continues to languish, ignoring what we view as an […]

Almost fifteen years ago, we debuted the Chilton REIT Outlook in July 2011 titled ‘The Role of REITs’ with the goal of informing clients and prospects about the benefits of adding REITs to their portfolios.  Many of the attractive attributes of REITs remain today, but the investment landscape is vastly different.  Ultimately, the MSCI US […]