VRAI - Santa Comes Early For REIT Investors

• U.S. equity markets declined for the second-straight week while volatility measures soared to the highest levels this year as jittery investors attempted to evaluate the economic impacts of the Omicron variant.
• Following declines of over 2% last week and suffering the worst two-day decline since October 2020, the S&P 500 slipped another 1.2% on the week with China-exposed companies posting sharp declines.
• Buoyed by a wave of dividend increases and helped by downward pressure in interest rates and strong housing market data, REITs and homebuilders were among the strongest performers this week.
• With the countdown to Christmas now underway, Santa delivered some early presents for REIT investors. Four REITs declared special dividends this week while four REITs also hiked their regular distribution rates.
• Farewell - or perhaps good riddance - to the prison REIT sector. GEO Group dipped after announcing that it will forego REIT status, following a similar corporate restructuring by CoreCivic into a taxable c-corp, concluding a tumultuous 8-year run as REITs.

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