After a solid start to the year in January, REITs lost ground in February as gains in the 10-year Treasury note prompted short-term capital flows out of the market.
Analysts stress, however, that positive fundamentals remain in place for the industry going forward.
The total returns of the FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index dipped approximately 2.6 percent in February, while the S&P 500 gained more than 5.8 percent for the month. For the year, the REIT market is up 2.9 percent, whereas the S&P 500 is up 2.6 percent.