REITs Step Up Sales, as Acquisitions Dwindle

The equity REIT acquisition total for 2016 stood at $63.6 billion, a 35% drop year over year. On the other side of the investment table, dispositions were $52.2 billion, a 31% increase from the year before, and the highest annual figure for the industry. The reason for the figures? It’s likely that many REITs are taking advantage of higher prices to sell non-core assets, especially among the office and apartment sectors.

National Real Estate Investor added that stock prices for most public REITs fell below net asset values in the second half of 2016. In addition, the fall in merger and acquisition activity among REITs suggested that REITs might not have had enough capital to carry out acquisitions. When it came to dispositions, however, there has been plenty of interest, especially among global investors deploying capital to the U.S.

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