Gregory FCA | By Heather Crowell and Britni Ackrivo

How can understanding REITs transform your investment strategy? David Auerbach, Chief Investment Officer at Hoya Capital, joins Heather and Britni to discuss the essential role that education plays in successful REIT investing. With a deep commitment to demystifying the REIT market, David shares his insights on why understanding the fundamentals is crucial, especially in a landscape often dominated by misleading headlines. He discusses the importance of helping investors make informed decisions, navigating market volatility, and recognizing the true, long-term value of REITs. Tune in to hear how David’s passion for educating the market shapes his work and why he believes that well-informed investors are the cornerstone of the future for REITs.

MarketWatch | By Joy Wiltermuth

Top owners of high-quality office properties were among a batch of public real-estate investment trusts that raised nearly $2.5 billion in debt and equity in the past week.

BXP, Inc., formerly known as Boston Properties, borrowed $850 million in the corporate bond market, while Cousin Properties Inc. raised $500 million, according to BofA Global Data.

A total of $29 billion in fresh U.S. investment-grade corporate bonds were issued in the week through Thursday, per BofA Global, with trading levels narrowing about five basis points on average, indicating demand for the debt issuance.

Bisnow | By Emily Wishingrad

Publicly traded property owners are suddenly back in favor after two years of Wall Street betting against the commercial real estate sector. 

Real estate stocks posted their best day of the year on Thursday and led all S&P 500 sectors in gains last week, with the overall real estate sector rising 4.41% and Nareit's index of REITs rising 4.62%. That momentum has continued this week, with the REIT index rising 1.1% on Tuesday. 

Fintech TV | By Jeremy Kasdin

Remy Blaire discusses the dynamics of the modern housing market with David Auerbach, Chief Investment Officer at Hoya Capital. As the price for purchasing a home or apartment increases, how is the market affected overall? 

Seeking Alpha | Investing Experts Podcast

Summary

• Retail investors should consider REITs in their portfolios for diversification and income streams.

• Hoya Capital created REIT ETFs in response to subscriber demand for higher yielding products.

• Navigating the wall of debt and evaluating dividend safety are key considerations when investing in REITs.

Seeking Alpha | By Jonathan Block

Hoya Capital Chief Investment Officer David Auerbach admits that while REITs are a "boring" investment, investors new to them would be wise to put 5%-10% of their assets in them.

"REITs are the tortoise in the tortoise-and-hare race," he said, adding that because the investments tend to be less volatile and have higher dividend yields than other equity investments, they provide less risk. He noted that they can be used as a way to hedge the risk of investing in more volatile areas, such as cannabis stocks.

REITs provide a "safety net to build that income base 15 to 20 years down the road."

MarketWatch | By Joy Wiltermuth

Top AAA-rated commercial property bonds have been tarnished by a defaulted office loan on a Blackstone Inc. building in New York City, which in May left investors with big losses.

While Blackstone ran into trouble on 1740 Broadway, a 26-story office building near Manhattan’s Columbus Circle, in the wake of the pandemic, it took several years to resolve its huge mortgage bill.

It wasn’t until recently that investors in the property deal received some of their money back after nearly a decade, albeit after taking a $190 million collective hit on their roughly $300 million investment, according to data from CrediQ.

The Property Chronicle | By David Auerbach

Over 200 US REITs and homebuilders have reported first-quarter earnings results over the past four weeks, providing critical information on the state of the commercial and residential real estate industry. A microcosm of the past two years across REIT world, interest rate movements dictated the narrative and stock performance, overshadowing what was ultimately a relatively solid earnings season for the sector. Consistent with the “Rates Up, REITs Down” paradigm, REITs sold-off sharply in late April as the 10-year Yield jumped to six-month highs, but rebounded strongly in early May after the weak nonfarm payrolls report and subsequent dovish Fed commentary revived some hopes of multiple rate cuts later this year. Of the 99 REITs that provide guidance, 41 (41%) raised their full-year FFO outlook, 48 (48%) maintained, while 10 REITs (10%) lowered their guidance – a “raise rate” that is slightly above the historical first-quarter average of around 40%. Within this group, 80% of the guidance revisions were to the upside, while 20% were negative. By comparison, FactSet reports that, among the S&P 500 companies that updated their guidance, 52% raised their outlook, while 48% lowered their forecast.

NYU Schack | By Scott Robinson

We are pleased to present a new distinguished speaker webinar series exploring the REIT Investment management ecosystem. This series will explore investment styles, structures, and strategies with (3) distinct REIT investment management platforms. We also discuss broader market cyclical and secular trends facing the REIT sector and how these could impact fund manager strategies.

In this episode, we speak with David Auerbach, Chief Investment Officer at Hoya Capital.

Hoya Capital

Rexford Industrial (REXR) is one of the largest industrial real estate owners in the United States, owning nearly 50 million square feet of logistics space with an exclusive focus on the Southern California market. The second-largest industrial REIT by market cap ($11.3B), REXR's portfolio is comprised of 374 properties with 46.1M SF of rentable space. REXR is listed on the NYSE and is included the S&P Mid-Cap 400 Index. CFO Laura Clark joins the Hoya Hotseat to discuss the impressive growth and outperformance of REXR since its 2013 IPO, the advantage of the public REIT model on its access to capital, and the favorable supply/demand fundamentals of West Coast logistics markets.

Hoya Capital

Easterly Government (DEA) is a small-cap office REIT ($1.1B market-cap) with a unique focus on properties leased to U.S. government agencies. DEA owns 90 properties across a national footprint, with 99% of leases backed by the U.S government. Founder and Chairman Darrell Crate joins the Hoya Hotseat to discuss the company's strategy of tailoring facilities to meet the unique needs of each US Government agency. He notes the steady growth nature of government spending, particularly for mission-critical activities and shared Easterly's journey, starting as a private equity business in 2009 and going public in 2015.

Hoya Capital

VICI Properties (NYSE: VICI) is the largest owner of casino and gaming real estate assets in North America, with interests in 93 experiential assets, including 54 casinos - including Caesars Palace, MGM Grand, the Venetian Resort - and 39 other experiential properties across the United States and Canada. The 127M SF portfolio - fully occupied under long-term triple-net leases - features 60,300 hotel rooms and over 500 restaurants. VICI's CEO Edward Pitoniak joins the Hoya Hotseat to discuss the opportunities it sees in the gaming sector, and the firm's rapid growth since its 2017 IPO, becoming the fastest REIT to ascend into the S&P 500 Index.

Financial Advisor | By Christopher C. Williams

The companies driving the record surge in stocks might be peddling artificial intelligence products, but the impact they’re having on the market and investor sentiment is very real. The Standard & Poor’s 500 has soared past 5,000, and the supersonic performance of companies such as chipmaker Nvidia has financial advisors fielding calls from clients eager to jump on the next big tech thing.

“We really don’t get many calls from clients when the market’s plunging,” said Greg Halter, director of research at Carnegie Investment Counsel in Cleveland. “We get calls when the market is strong, and they’re like, ‘Why don’t you buy more of this stock?’ Nvidia. That kind of stuff.”

Halter’s advice to those pining for high-flying stocks: Curb your enthusiasm.

Hoya Capital

Mid-America (NYSE:MAA) is the largest apartment owner in the United States by quantity of units, with ownership interest in over 100,000 units across 16 states. MAA focuses primarily on Sunbelt and Mid-Atlantic markets, and typically owns garden-style and low-rise communities in the "Class B+" quality tier, with average monthly rents of around $1,700. Listed on the NYSE since 1994, MAA is included in the S&P 500 and is one of just eight REITs with an S&P credit rating of A/A-. Chairman and CEO Eric Bolton joins the Hoya Hotseat to discuss the company's evolution into the largest apartment owner in the country, the compelling demand fundamentals for Sunbelt multifamily, the changing demographics of apartment renters, and its three-decade track record of growing its dividend.

Hoya Capital

Kimco Realty (NYSE: KIM) is North America's largest publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in grocery-anchored, open-air shopping centers and mixed use assets. Publicly traded on the NYSE since 1991, and included in the S&P 500 Index, the company owned interests in 523 U.S. shopping centers and mixed-use assets comprising 90 million square feet of gross leasable space. CEO Conor Flynn joins the Hoya Hotseat to discuss retail real estate fundamentals and Kimco's growth over the past three decades into the largest shopping center owner in the nation.

Hoya Capital

Generation Income Properties (NASDAQ: GIPR) is a micro-cap ($10.6M) Net Lease REIT that owns 26 properties across 13 states. GIPR - which went public in 2021 - focuses primarily on single-tenant retail (55% of its portfolio) and net lease office (35% of its portfolio). GIPR pays a dividend yield of 11.4% on a monthly basis. (As of 1/26/2024).

Founder & CEO David Sobelman joins the Hoya Hotseat to discuss the firm's strategy of focusing on investment-grade tenants with shorter lease terms -which lends to a capitalization rate - and the advantage of its active, hands-on approach to property management.

Hoya Capital

CareTrust REIT (CTRE) is a small-cap healthcare REIT ($2.5B market cap) focused on the skilled nursing and senior housing sub-sector. CTRE owns 206 properties across 25 states - primarily in the Western United States. CTRE pays a dividend yield of 5.2% on a quarterly basis. (As of 1/25/2024)

CEO Dave Sedgwick joins the Hoya Hotseat to discuss CareTrust's growth from a one-tenant operator at its 2016 IPO into a diversified healthcare platform with 25 operators, and discusses the opportunities and risks of the Skilled Nursing space, including the role of government, demographic trends, and the importance of operator relationships.

Hoya Capital

Strawberry Fields REIT (NYSE: STRW) is a self-administered real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership, acquisition, development and leasing of skilled nursing and certain other healthcare-related properties. The Company's portfolio includes 107 healthcare facilities with an aggregate of 12,203 beds, located throughout the states of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. The 107 healthcare facilities comprise 97 skilled nursing facilities, eight assisted living facilities, and two long-term acute care hospitals.

Hoya Capital

Getty Realty (NYSE: GTY) is a publicly traded, net lease REIT specializing in convenience, automotive and other single tenant retail real estate. As of December 31, 2023, the Company’s portfolio included 1,093 freestanding properties located in 40 states across the United States and Washington, D.C.

Hoya Capital

Centerspace (NYSE: CSR) is a small-cap Apartment REIT that owns 72 apartment communities consisting of 13,088 homes located in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. CEO Anne Olson joins the Hoya Hotseat to discuss the company's backstory, its unique Midwest-focused portfolio, and broader multifamily fundamentals.