By Chris Owens, Analyst, Atchison Consultants
Australian real estate investment trusts (AREITs), as represented by the S&P/ASX 200 AREIT Index, returned -2.6% in the month ending 28 February 2021. The AREIT index significantly underperformed the S&P/ASX 200 return of +1.5% over the month.
Over the 12 months to February 2021, AREITs posted a total return of -12.0%. This is 18.5% lower than the S&P/ASX 200 return of +6.5%.
Sector Performance
Table 1 below shows the performance of AREITs for various periods ending 28 February 2021.
Higher government bond yields had a negative impact on the performance of AREITs during the month. Over the 3 years and 5 years to the end of February, the sector produced total returns of 5.4% and 4.7% per annum respectively.
Sector returns in February were led by Retail AREITs with +3.7%, followed by Office AREITs with -1.5%, Diversified AREITs with -4.7% and Industrial AREITs with -6.1%. Easing of lockdown restrictions has encouraged a more positive view of retail prospects.
Table 2 below shows the income performance of AREITs for various periods ending 28 February 2021.
