Industrial REITs (real estate investment trusts) tend to carry on many development and redevelopment projects simultaneously in order to maintain leadership.
Retail REITs were the top performers of the iShares US Real Estate ETF (IYR) on January 5, 2016, with a return of 2.5%. The healthcare REIT subgroup ended the day with a positive return of 2.4%.
Industrial properties suffered a major setback during the 2008 financial crisis. The vacancy rate for industrial properties increased, and the need for new industrial buildings was close to zero.
According to the data from NAR (National Association of Realtors), the office vacancy rate declined to 15.9% in Q2 of fiscal 2015 compared to 16.5% in the same period year ago.
Industrial REITs mainly include assets like warehousing facilities, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, R&D centers, and administrative functions.
