NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2025, 1:41 p.m. ET — Market closed
U.S. real estate stocks enter the final stretch of 2025 with a familiar catalyst back in the driver’s seat: interest rates. With Wall Street closed for the weekend, investors in REITs and other real estate equities are using the pause to assess what Friday’s thin, post-holiday session signaled—and what could move the group when trading resumes Monday.
The big picture is straightforward: real estate has struggled to keep pace with the broader market this year, but strategists see multiple pathways for a better setup in 2026, particularly if rate volatility calms and the gap between public and private real estate valuations continues to narrow. [1]
Real estate stocks: quiet Friday, familiar crosscurrents
Friday’s trading (Dec. 26) had the feel of a year-end “in-between” session: low catalyst density, light volumes, and small moves across many sectors. The S&P 500 finished essentially flat-to-slightly lower at 6,929.94, while the Dow and Nasdaq also posted modest declines. [2]
Inside real estate, the message was mixed but calm:
- FTSE Nareit’s broad “All REITs” reading showed a small gain on the day, with equity REITs slightly positive and mortgage REITs essentially flat as of the Friday close snapshot. [3]
- Sector tape from MT Newswires showed the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) modestly higher late Friday afternoon, while the Philadelphia Housing Index eased—an illustration of how REITs and housing-related equities can diverge even on quiet macro days. [4]
Reuters, in a broad market wrap of the session, underscored a year-end reality that still hangs over the group: real estate was the only S&P sector expected to finish 2025 in the red, even as major indexes sit near records. [5]
The rate factor: Treasury yields drift, but the “next move” risk remains
Rate sensitivity is a feature—not a bug—of publicly traded real estate. When long-term yields rise, income-oriented equities such as REITs often face valuation pressure; when yields fall or stabilize, the same cash flows can look more attractive.
On Friday, Treasury yields edged lower in a subdued, holiday-shortened week. The 10-year yield was last around 4.12% in Reuters’ late-morning report, with the 2-year near 3.48%—levels that keep borrowing costs elevated versus the pre-inflation era, but also reflect a market that’s not in “panic repricing” mode. [6]
Rate-cut expectations remain part of the conversation, but they’re not a one-way bullish lever. Reuters cited CME pricing that put the probability of a Fed cut at the January meeting at 17.7% as of Friday. [7]
And importantly for REIT investors, not every rate-cut narrative is automatically “good.” Eric Teal, chief investment officer for Comerica Wealth Management, warned in a note that cutting rates further could carry “an increased risk” of pushing long-term yields higher and undermining the dollar—exactly the kind of second-order move that can complicate the outlook for rate-sensitive equities. [8]
Mortgage rates hit a two-month low—helpful for housing sentiment, but the calendar is slow
Housing-linked stocks (homebuilders, building products, mortgage originators and some residential real estate platforms) tend to key off mortgage rates even more directly than many REIT subsectors.
Mortgage News Daily reported Friday that the average 30-year fixed rate fell to roughly 6.20%, the lowest level since late October, noting that it took only a small bond-market move to mark that milestone. The outlet also cautioned that the coming week may stay slow for rate movement, with activity expected to pick up progressively as 2026 gets underway. [9]
That “slow now, faster later” setup is typical around year-end—and it matters because real estate stocks often react sharply when the market moves from holiday liquidity to full participation.
Where analysts see 2026 opportunity: valuation gaps, credit conditions, and property-type winners
Several institutional viewpoints circulating into late December share a common theme: listed real estate may be positioned for a better relative year if (1) credit conditions continue to normalize, and (2) the public market’s discount to private real estate values narrows.
Cohen & Steers’ Seth Laughlin, head of Real Estate Strategy & Research, argued that 2026 “offers a reprieve on multiple fronts,” highlighting improving credit availability and a persistent valuation dislocation between listed and private markets. He also laid out a clear directional forecast: Cohen & Steers expects listed REITs to deliver lower- to mid-double-digit returns at the index level in 2026 after a lackluster 2025, while expecting 10-year yields to remain near current levels or slightly higher—implying that stock selection and earnings growth may matter more than “cap-rate compression” hopes. [10]
Nareit framed a similar concept in its 2026 outlook, describing “dual divergences”: (1) a prolonged gap between public and private real estate valuations, and (2) a persistent valuation multiple gap between REITs and broader equities. The organization argues that if and when those gaps converge—as they have in past cycles—REITs historically have had room to outperform. [11]
PGIM’s Q4 2025 Real Estate Securities Outlook also leaned constructive, pointing to recovering capital markets, limited new supply in many areas, and continued structural demand in sectors such as data centers and senior housing—while emphasizing that rate volatility remains a key risk. [12]
Subsector watch: healthcare REITs and lodging names show why “real estate” isn’t one trade
The real estate sector is a mosaic of very different business models—one reason stock pickers often prefer it to a single ETF bet.
Healthcare REITs: growth vs. stress-test yields
A Zacks analysis published on Nasdaq on Friday compared Welltower (WELL) with Medical Properties Trust (MPW) and highlighted how two companies in the same broad category can face very different fundamentals.
The piece noted that Welltower’s consensus outlook implies strong year-over-year growth in 2025 sales and funds from operations (FFO) per share, with estimates revised higher recently—while MPW’s consensus view implied declines in both sales and FFO per share and downward estimate trends. It also contrasted valuation multiples (WELL at a much higher forward P/FFO than MPW), framing the tradeoff as growth and balance-sheet strength versus higher yield and higher perceived risk. [13]
Lodging REITs: macro headwinds, event tailwinds
In lodging, MT Newswires reported Friday that Truist Securities sees RLJ Lodging Trust potentially benefiting from “tailwinds in 2026” despite macro challenges—an example of how travel demand, group bookings, and citywide events can matter as much as rates for hotel REITs. [14]
Net lease REITs: the dividend narrative remains powerful
Realty Income (O)—often treated as a bellwether for the net-lease space—continued to attract “defensive income” commentary. In a late-Friday opinion piece, Motley Fool contributor Reuben Gregg Brewer emphasized the company’s scale (a market cap cited at roughly $52 billion), its large single-tenant property footprint, and its long-running dividend growth record as key pillars supporting investor interest in the name. [15]
ETF reality check: what XLRE is really buying for you
For investors benchmarking “real estate stocks” through the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE), it’s worth remembering that the ETF is not a broad housing proxy. Sector allocations show meaningful exposure to specialized REITs and cell tower REITs, along with retail, industrial, and residential slices—each with different sensitivity to rates, supply, and tenant fundamentals. [16]
That composition is one reason real estate “can” rally even when housing indicators look soft—and also why the sector can behave more like a hybrid of income, infrastructure, and growth, depending on what subsectors are leading.
What investors should know before Monday’s session
Because U.S. equities are closed today (weekend), the next actionable window for real estate stock investors is the Monday, Dec. 29 regular session.
Here are the key watch items heading into the open:
- The 10-year yield level (and direction), not just “Fed cut talk.”
Friday’s yields were stable-to-lower in quiet trade, but strategist commentary (including Comerica’s Eric Teal) highlights the risk that policy shifts can push the long end higher—often a headwind for REIT multiples. [17] - Mortgage-rate momentum and early-2026 liquidity.
Mortgage News Daily’s read of ~6.20% for the 30-year fixed rate is a near-term positive for housing sentiment, but the outlet also flagged the likelihood of a slower rate week before markets “pick up” into 2026. [18] - A housing-and-prices data cluster as the year turns.
The Econoday/Fidelity calendar for the week ahead includes housing-facing releases such as the Pending Home Sales Index and home price measures (Case-Shiller and FHFA), along with Construction Spending—exactly the kind of lineup that can move residential REITs and housing-related equities if surprises are large. [19] - Year-end positioning effects: tax loss harvesting, rebalancing, and thin tape.
Reuters described Friday’s session as quiet and thin, with limited catalysts—conditions that can amplify single-name moves and make sector rotations look larger than they are. [20] - Holiday trading schedule risk as liquidity shifts around New Year’s.
Markets are closed on New Year’s Day (Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026), and traders often factor in reduced liquidity around adjacent sessions. Investopedia also noted that bond trading closes early at 2 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve (Wednesday, Dec. 31). [21]
Bottom line: real estate stocks are still a rates trade—but 2026 is shaping up as a fundamentals-and-valuation story
Real estate stocks may be entering 2026 from a position of relative weakness versus the broader market, but that’s precisely what makes the sector interesting to long-horizon allocators. Across research houses and industry groups, the developing narrative is less about a single rate cut “saving” the sector and more about valuation gaps, improving credit availability, and sector-level earnings durability—especially in property types with structural demand (data centers, senior housing, select residential and logistics). [22]
When trading resumes Monday, the market’s first question for real estate stocks will likely be the same as it’s been all year: are long-term yields drifting lower, holding steady, or re-accelerating higher? The next question—one that could matter more in 2026—will be whether REIT cash flows and balance sheets can turn today’s discounts into tomorrow’s total returns. [23]
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. apnews.com, 3. www.reit.com, 4. fixedincome.fidelity.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. fixedincome.fidelity.com, 7. fixedincome.fidelity.com, 8. fixedincome.fidelity.com, 9. www.mortgagenewsdaily.com, 10. www.cohenandsteers.com, 11. www.reit.com, 12. www.pgim.com, 13. www.nasdaq.com, 14. fixedincome.fidelity.com, 15. www.fool.com, 16. www.ssga.com, 17. fixedincome.fidelity.com, 18. www.mortgagenewsdaily.com, 19. fidelity.econoday.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. www.investopedia.com, 22. www.cohenandsteers.com, 23. www.cohenandsteers.com
