REIT Earnings Fell 9% in the First Quarter as COVID-19 Crisis Hit Travel, Shopping

Nareit’s T-Tracker, a comprehensive summary of REIT earnings and operating performance, showed an overall picture of weak earnings in the first quarter, with about half of the 9% decline in funds from operations (FFO) reflecting the lodging and hotels sector.Speaking May 26 on the Nareit REIT Report podcast, Nareit Senior Economist Calvin Schnure noted that regional malls also had a decline in earnings and most other property sectors had modest declines. Industrial REITs, meanwhile, had a 21.7% increase in FFO, and single family home REITs saw a 7% FFO increase.Most of the first quarter predated the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, second quarter T-Tracker results are likely to be “quite a bit weaker,” Schnure said.