The week of March 9 is shaping up to be the worst week for U.S. equity real estate investment trust stocks of all time, as the coronavirus pandemic spreads and fear in the investment world intensifies.
The SNL U.S. REIT Equity index closed Thursday, March 12 at 285.68, a drop of 18.7% for the week thus far. Previously, a handful of weeks in late 2008 during the financial crisis topped the chart, with the index falling 18.1% during the week of Nov. 17, 2008, and 17.7% during the week of Nov. 10, 2008.
Share prices for hotel REITs dropped the most this week, with the SNL U.S. REIT Hotel index down 34.4%. Hotels and the tourism industry as a whole have been in a downturn lately, as travelers opt to stay at home and cancel trips.
The healthcare REIT sector followed closely, with the SNL U.S. REIT Healthcare index down 33.4%.
Share prices for REITs that own seniors housing and skilled nursing facilities have fallen the most, with Sabra Health Care REIT Inc. down 48.6% for the week, while Ventas Inc.'s share price fell 44.8%, Diversified Healthcare Trust dropped 44.7% and New Senior Investment Group fell 42.8%. Senior living properties in particular can suffer during severe flu seasons, as residents die or move into hospitals, and some observers expect a more dramatic version of this as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
The regional mall index rounded out the top three, down 28.5% for the week.
Sotherly Hotels Inc. and Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc., two small-cap hotel REITs, recorded the largest drop in share prices among all equity REITs, down 68.9% and 55.1%, respectively.
Energy infrastructure REIT CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust Inc. followed in the third spot, down 50.5%.
Data center-focused Digital Realty Trust Inc. is the sole REIT to record a slight increase in share price up 0.1%, while Postal Realty Trust Inc., which owns and manages properties leased to the U.S. Postal Service, fell 4.1% and shopping center REIT Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc.'s share price is down 5.0%.
On a similar note, the S&P 500 is down 16.5% for the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18.0%.
