REITs and Real Estate
REITs and Real Estate
Listed equity REITs and the two public services firms that sit next to them. The page is organized by how the buildings earn rent: towers and logistics, healthcare and housing, retail and office, then CBRE and CoStar. Equinix, Digital Realty, and Iron Mountain stay on Data Centers. American Tower, Crown Castle, and SBA are here.
Data updated 2026-08-26
The REITs and Real Estate sector on Sterling tracks 27 companies.
Four Numbers That Frame Listed REITs
Nareit size as of July 31, 2026 and the IRC 857 distribution test. Data-center landlords stay on Data Centers.
All REITs equity cap
$1.66T
FTSE Nareit All REITs at July 31, 2026. All Equity REITs were $1.59T. Year-end 2025 All REITs were $1.44T.
Nareit July 2026 snapshot
Index constituents
183
REITs in the FTSE Nareit All REITs Index at July 31, 2026. 149 trade on the NYSE. Nareit says listed and private REITs own over $4.5T of commercial real estate assets.
Nareit July 2026 snapshot
2025 listed dividends
$71B
Public listed REITs paid about $71B in 2025. Public non-listed REITs paid about $5B. Ordinary income was 79% of the listed mix.
Nareit July 2026 snapshot
Distribution test
90%
IRC 857: dividends paid must equal or exceed 90% of REIT taxable income (excluding the dividends-paid deduction and net capital gain) to keep REIT status.
IRS Form 1120-REIT instructions
Equity Market Cap by Property Type
Health care is the largest listed slice. Data centers are shown so the mix is honest, then left on the Data Centers page.
Listed REIT Equity Market Cap
2021 peak, 2022 rate shock, then a slow rebuild. July 2026 is intra-year.
10-Year Treasury Yield
The discount-rate backdrop. REIT implied cap rates move with this series. It is not a REIT total-return chart.
Occupancy as each company reports it
Each row is one issuer's own definition. Occupied, leased, commenced, and same-store average are different numbers. Do not average them.
| Issuer | Occupancy | What the issuer printed | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Realty Income (O) | 98.9% | Portfolio occupancy on the net-lease book | December 31, 2025 |
| UDR | 96.9% | Weighted-average same-store physical occupancy | FY 2025 |
| Invitation Homes (INVH) | 96.8% | Same-store average occupancy, 76,819 homes | FY 2025 |
| Regency (REG) | 96.5% | Same-property percent leased (not commenced) | December 31, 2025 |
| Simon (SPG) | 96.4% | US malls and Premium Outlets occupancy | December 31, 2025 |
| Kimco (KIM) | 96.4% | Pro-rata portfolio occupancy | December 31, 2025 |
| Essex (ESS) | 96.3% | Same-property financial occupancy | Q4 2025 |
| Prologis (PLD) | 95.8% | Owned and managed period-end occupancy | Q4 2025 |
| MAA | 95.6% | Same-store average physical occupancy | FY 2025 |
| Camden (CPT) | 95.2% | Same-property occupancy | Q4 2025 |
| Federal Realty (FRT) | 94.1% | Occupied (leased was 96.1%) | December 31, 2025 |
| Extra Space (EXR) | 93.7% | Average same-store square-foot occupancy | FY 2025 |
| Public Storage (PSA) | 92.0% | Same-store average occupancy, 2,565 facilities | FY 2025 |
| Alexandria (ARE) | 90.9% | Operating properties in North America | December 31, 2025 |
| Ventas (VTR) | 90.1% | Same-store SHOP average unit occupancy | Q4 2025 |
| Welltower (WELL) | 89.5% | Same-store SHO occupancy, 875 properties | Q4 2025 |
| BXP | 86.7% | In-service occupied (leased 89.4%) | December 31, 2025 |
Same-store net operating income change, as each company reports it
Welltower seniors housing +20.4% next to Public Storage -0.5%. Different books, different windows. Do not average them into one real-estate net operating income number.
Occupied vs Leased
BXP, Alexandria, Federal Realty, and Regency. The gap is signed leases that have not commenced. Definitions still differ.
Portfolio Scale
Sites, square feet, homes, properties, and timber acres. Counts as each company reports them. Do not add them.
| Issuer | Vertical | Scale print | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Tower | Towers | 149,686 | communications sites, December 31, 2025 |
| SBA Communications | Towers | 46,328 | towers (17,394 in the US) |
| Crown Castle | Towers | more than 40,000 | US towers. Precise count not disclosed. |
| Prologis | Industrial | 1.3 billion | sq ft owned and managed |
| Realty Income | Net lease | 15,511 properties; 355.0 million sq ft | December 31, 2025 |
| Public Storage | Storage | 3,533 properties; 258 million sq ft | year-end 2025 portfolio |
| Invitation Homes | Single-family | 76,819 | same-store homes, FY 2025 |
| Vivmark Residential | Apartments | more than 184,000 | apartments at August 17, 2026 close |
| Essex | Apartments | 259 communities; 63,077 homes | December 31, 2025 |
| UDR | Apartments | 53,468 | same-store homes (96.8% of the portfolio) |
| MAA | Apartments | 302 communities; 103,083 units | December 31, 2025. Units exclude undelivered development. |
| Kimco | Shopping centers | 565 assets; 100 million sq ft | year-end 2025 |
| Alexandria | Life-science office | 340 properties; 39.4 million RSF | North America operating and under construction |
| Weyerhaeuser | Timber | 10.389 million US acres; 14.107 million Canada license acres | December 31, 2025. Do not add US fee acres to Canadian licenses. |
Who is on this page, and why
Who is on this page and why. American Tower, Crown Castle, and SBA are here. Equinix, Digital Realty, and Iron Mountain are not.
| Company | Ticker | Vertical | Sourced print | Why it is here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Tower | AMT | Towers | 149,686 sites; $10.645B revenue | Global tower landlord. 42,224 sites in US and Canada. Also 30 US data centers, which are not the Data Centers roster. |
| Crown Castle | CCI | Towers | More than 40,000 US towers | US-only tower REIT. Selling fiber and small cells for $8.5B (signed March 13, 2025). |
| SBA Communications | SBAC | Towers | 46,328 towers; 17,394 in the US | Third public tower. Site leasing was 97.9% of 2025 segment operating profit. |
| Prologis | PLD | Industrial | 1.3B sq ft; 95.8% period-end occupancy | Logistics landlord. 2025 lease rollovers lifted net effective rent about 50% on Prologis share. |
| Welltower | WELL | Healthcare | SHO SSNOI +20.4% in Q4 2025 | Seniors-housing operator REIT. Occupancy +400 bps and RevPOR +4.7% in the same-store SHO book. |
| Ventas | VTR | Healthcare | SHOP occupancy 90.1%; +300 bps | SHOP plus medical office. Same-store SHOP cash NOI +15% in Q4 2025. |
| Vivmark Residential | VMRK | Apartments | 184,000+ apartments at close | Equity Residential plus AvalonBay, closed August 17, 2026. Trading as VMRK from August 18. |
| Invitation Homes | INVH | Single-family | 96.8% FY same-store occupancy | Build-to-rent adjacent single-family landlord. 76,819 homes in the 2025 same-store set. |
| Simon Property Group | SPG | Malls | 96.4% occupancy; $799 sales/sf | US malls and Premium Outlets. Base minimum rent $60.97 per square foot at year-end 2025. |
| Kimco Realty | KIM | Shopping centers | 96.4% pro-rata occupancy | Grocery-anchored open-air. 565 US assets and 100 million square feet at year-end 2025. |
| Realty Income | O | Net lease | 15,511 properties; 98.9% occupancy | Triple-net. Retail was 79.1% of annualized rent at December 31, 2025. |
| BXP | BXP | Office | 86.7% occupied; 89.4% leased | Gateway office. CBD book ended 2025 89.8% occupied and 92.5% leased. |
| CBRE Group | CBRE | Services | $40.55B 2025 revenue | Largest public CRE services firm on 2025 revenue. Not a landlord REIT. |
| CoStar Group | CSGP | Services | $3.247B 2025 revenue | CRE data and marketplaces. Residential (Homes.com) was $1.460B of the 2025 mix. |
What is covered on other pages
Data-center landlords, homebuilders, hotel brands, mortgage REITs, and private operators. The Nareit $205B data-center slice stays on Data Centers.
| Name | Where it lives | Why it is not here |
|---|---|---|
| Equinix, Digital Realty, Iron Mountain | Data Centers | Locked by spec. Nareit's $205B data-center equity-cap slice stays on that page. |
| American Tower's 30 US data centers | Footnote on this page | Towers are the business. The 30 US data centers do not move Equinix onto this roster. |
| Equity Residential, AvalonBay | Replaced by VMRK | Merger of equals closed August 17, 2026. Combined company trades as VMRK. |
| Mortgage REITs (NLY and peers) | Not covered | $63.6B of Nareit cap at July 31, 2026. Different balance-sheet risk. |
| D.R. Horton, Lennar, Pulte | Housing and Building Products | They sell homes. They do not collect rent as a REIT. |
| Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt | Travel | Host owns the real estate. Brands take the flag fee. |
| Greystar, Brookfield REIT vehicles, Blackstone BREIT | Off page | Material to the private market, not this listed close. |
Companies in the REITs and Real Estate sector (27)
- Healthpeak Properties
- Ventas
- Welltower
- Host Hotels & Resorts
- Vici Properties
- Prologis
- Camden Property Trust
- Essex Property Trust
- Mid-America Apartment Communities
- UDR, Inc.
- Vivmark Residential
- Alexandria Real Estate Equities
- BXP, Inc.
- CBRE Group
- CoStar Group
- Federal Realty Investment Trust
- Kimco Realty
- Realty Income
- Regency Centers
- Simon Property Group
- Extra Space Storage
- Public Storage
- Invitation Homes
- American Tower
- Crown Castle
- SBA Communications
- Weyerhaeuser
Frequently asked questions
What is the REITs and Real Estate sector?
Listed equity REITs and the two public services firms that sit next to them. The page is organized by how the buildings earn rent: towers and logistics, healthcare and housing, retail and office, then CBRE and CoStar. Equinix, Digital Realty, and Iron Mountain stay on Data Centers. American Tower, Crown Castle, and SBA are here.
Which companies lead the REITs and Real Estate sector?
Sterling tracks 27 companies in REITs and Real Estate, led by Healthpeak Properties (DOC), Ventas (VTR), Welltower (WELL), Host Hotels & Resorts (HST), Vici Properties (VICI) and Prologis (PLD).
How can I invest in the REITs and Real Estate sector?
Publicly traded names in REITs and Real Estate include Healthpeak Properties (DOC), Ventas (VTR), Welltower (WELL), Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) and Vici Properties (VICI). Compare them side by side on Sterling. Data last updated August 26, 2026.