130 Largest US REITs Market Prices Up 15% Since December 2007 Before the Financial Meltdown Hit

From an extensive Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Review of US Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), I found 127 US REITs with Total Stock Market Capitalizations of at least $100 mil each currently and which also had their trusts trading on each of the following three dates:

• On December 31, 2007 during President Bush's second term
• On March 6, 2009, very early in President Obama's first term, which was their lowest point due to the spillover effects resulting from the 2008 financial meltdown, and 
• also on July 3, 2014

I also included 2 US REITs which first started trading in early 2008.  And I also included 1 US REIT which was recently sold.  That makes 130 US REITs before the financial meltdown hit in late 2008.  And this 130 doesn't include the publicly-held ones with less than $100 mil in Market Cap, or any of the privately-held ones, or the Mutual Funds and ETFs which buy only REITs.

The historical market prices of these REITs were obtained from the following two excellent internet resources....  Google Finance and MarketWatch Big Charts.

These 130 US REITs had their equal-company-weighted average market prices drop by a massive 61% from December 31, 2007 during President Bush's second Presidential term, to March 6, 2009, very early in President Obama's first term, which was the very lowest point for the overall stock market due to the spillover effects resulting from the disastrous 2008 Financial Meltdown.

But since March 6, 2009, the average market prices of these same 130 US REITs have increased by a spectacular 395% through July 3, 2014.  In real total return terms, this average market price increase of 395% is markedly understated because it excludes the cash dividends that these REITs paid out.

For the entire period of time from December 31, 2007, before the financial meltdown hit, to the current date July 3, 2014, these 130 US REITs had their average market prices increase by 15%.  When you add in the annual REIT cash dividends paid out, this 15% average return more than doubles over this 6.5 year period of time.

To qualify as a US REIT, at least 90% of a REIT's taxable income must be distributed each year.  A US REIT gets a US Federal income tax deduction each year for its dividends distributed in each year.  Thus, a REIT pays no US Federal income tax in any year it distributes as a dividend at least 100% of its taxable income before considering the dividend distribution.

Since this tax-free status of US REITs is so economically beneficial, nearly all US REITs distribute as a cash dividend each year at least 100% of their taxable income before the dividend tax deduction.  Thus in most cases, a US REIT has a very robust cash dividend yield even in a very low interest rate environment, thus the massive increase in both the number and total assets of US REITs, particularly after the US financial meltdown hit.

I derived the breakdown of the 130 US REITs by Industry from reviewing and analyzing the Business Section in Part 1 of the 10-K and also by analyzing the Asset Mix in the Balance Sheet and in the footnotes.

Below here are a breakdown of these average returns by REIT Industry:

		Average	Average	Average
		Market	Market	Market
		Price	Price	Price
		%	%	%
		Change	Change	Change
		3-6-09	12-31-07	12-31-07
	# of	to	to	to
REIT Industry	Companies	7-3-14	3-6-09	7-3-14
Self Storage	4	665%	-60%	150%
Residential	17	265%	-55%	52%
Healthcare Facilities	10	175%	-43%	51%
Timberlands	3	220%	-57%	24%
Correctional Facilities	2	220%	-62%	20%
Industrial	12	257%	-63%	9%
Hotel/Motel	10	791%	-86%	7%
Retail	26	588%	-66%	4%
Diversified	21	526%	-67%	1%
Office	10	233%	-59%	-5%
Mortgage Investments	15	116%	-45%	-30%
Totals	130	395%	-61%	15%

As you can see from the above chart, the Self Storage REIT Industry has been on fire.....up 150% since before the financial meltdown hit.

The US Residential and Healthcare Facilities REIT Industries both performed superbly over this 6.5 year period.....both up over 50%.

The US Residential REIT Industry benefited from both very high rental income rates and low interest rates.

The high rental rates were helped by the fear of home ownership caused by the disastrous financial meltdown.  Also, the $1.3 trillion of Student Loan Debt, the very high Credit Card Debt and the very weak US job market, all added to the decision to delay home ownership, thereby adding on to the already high rental rates.

The US Fed with its Quantitative Easing was the cause of the extremely low interest rates which substantially benefited the profit margins of the US Residential REIT Industry.

The US Health Care REIT Industry profit margins were helped by both an aging US population and the positive economic impact of the Affordable Care Act.

The US Hotel/Motel REIT Industry declined the most -86% due to the late 2008 financial meltdown, but also has increased the most +791% since then.

The huge US Retail REIT Industry also has increased very robustly +588% since March 6, 2009.

I do have to ask this question.....what in the world were both the US House Ways and Means and the US Senate Finance Committee thinking when they decided to give the For-Profit Prison Industry a tax-free REIT status? 

The clearly losing US REIT Industry in market price change over this 6.5 year period was Mortgage Investments.....down 30%.

Below here are the market prices of each of these 130 US REITs on July 3, 2014, on March 6, 2009, and on December 31, 2007, broken down first by REIT Industry and then sorted by Market Price Percentage Increase from December 31, 2007 to July 3, 2014:

						Market	Market	Market
						Price	Price	Price
						%	%	%
						Change	Change	Change
			Market	Market	Market	3-6-09	12-31-07	12-31-07
			Price	Price	Price	to	to	to
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)			7-3-14	3-6-09	12-31-07	7-3-14	3-6-09	7-3-14
			$	$	$
Diversified
WP Carey	New York	NY	63.96	18.02	33.20	255%	-46%	93%
NorthStar Realty Finance	New York	NY	16.92	1.39	8.92	1117%	-84%	90%
PS Business Parks	Glendale	AZ	84.41	30.21	52.55	179%	-43%	61%
One Liberty Properties	Great Neck	NY	21.69	2.39	16.16	806%	-85%	34%
Liberty Property Trust	Malvern	PA	37.58	16.95	28.81	122%	-41%	30%
Douglas Emmett Inc	Santa Monica	CA	28.34	6.45	22.61	339%	-71%	25%
Vornado Realty Trust	New York	NY	105.95	29.31	87.95	261%	-67%	20%
EPR Properties	Kansas City	MO	55.70	12.79	47.00	335%	-73%	19%
Alexander's	Paramus	NJ	372.59	137.82	353.25	170%	-61%	5%
Gladstone Commercial	McLean	VA	17.94	6.79	17.54	164%	-61%	2%
Investors Real Estate Trust	Minot	ND	8.97	8.77	8.97	2%	-2%	0%
Transcontinental Realty Investors	Dallas	TX	14.50	11.35	15.46	28%	-27%	-6%
Brandywine Realty Trust	Radnor	PA	15.30	3.53	17.93	333%	-80%	-15%
Washington REIT	Rockville	MD	25.84	15.60	31.41	66%	-50%	-18%
Newcastle Investment Corp	New York	NY	4.75	0.13	6.08	3551%	-98%	-22%
Duke Realty	Indianapolis	IN	17.98	4.48	26.08	301%	-83%	-31%
Cousins Properties Inc	Atlanta	GA	12.51	5.81	20.56	115%	-72%	-39%
Winthrop Realty Trust	Boston	MA	15.30	6.06	26.45	152%	-77%	-42%
iStar	New York	NY	14.81	1.09	26.05	1259%	-96%	-43%
RAIT Financial Trust	Philadelphia	PA	8.36	1.83	25.86	357%	-93%	-68%
Gramercy Property Trust	New York	NY	6.25	0.51	24.31	1125%	-98%	-74%
Average % Change all 21 Diversified REITs						526%	-67%	1%
Healthcare Facilities
Omega Healthcare Investors	Hunt Valley	MD	36.55	11.89	16.05	207%	-26%	128%
National Health Investors	Murfreesboro	TN	61.92	21.84	27.90	184%	-22%	122%
Sabra Health Care REIT	Irvine	CA	28.27	8.24	17.17	243%	-52%	65%
LTC Properties	Westlake Village	CA	38.80	16.74	25.05	132%	-33%	55%
Ventas	Chicago	IL	63.91	20.41	45.25	213%	-55%	41%
Health Care REIT	Toledo	OH	61.92	27.27	44.69	127%	-39%	39%
Medical Properties Trust	Birmingham	AL	12.95	3.04	10.19	326%	-70%	27%
Universal Health Realty Income	King of Prussia	PA	43.29	25.93	35.44	67%	-27%	22%
HCP Inc	Long Beach	CA	40.79	16.08	34.78	154%	-54%	17%
Healthcare Realty Trust Inc	Nashville	TN	25.06	12.78	25.39	96%	-50%	-1%
Average % Change all 10 Healthcare Facilities REITs						175%	-43%	51%
Hotel/Motel
Ashford Hospitality Trust	Dallas	TX	11.58	0.65	4.82	1679%	-87%	140%
Host Hotels & Resorts	Bethesda	MD	22.14	3.54	17.04	525%	-79%	30%
Ryman Hospitality Properties	Nashville	TN	48.79	4.99	40.47	878%	-88%	21%
LaSalle Hotel Properties	Bethesda	MD	35.83	3.91	31.90	816%	-88%	12%
Hospitality Properties Trust	Newton	MA	30.31	9.09	32.22	233%	-72%	-6%
Diamondrock Hospitality	Bethesda	MD	12.93	3.00	14.98	331%	-80%	-14%
Sunstone Hotel Investors	Aliso Viejo	CA	14.92	2.11	18.29	607%	-88%	-18%
Hersha Hospitality Trust	Philadelphia	PA	6.74	1.35	9.50	399%	-86%	-29%
Strategic Hotels & Resorts	Chicago	IL	11.74	0.77	16.73	1425%	-95%	-30%
FelCor Lodging Trust	Irving	TX	10.51	0.94	15.59	1018%	-94%	-33%
Average % Change all 10 Hotel/Motel REITs						791%	-86%	7%
Industrial
American Tower	Boston	MA	90.01	27.28	42.60	230%	-36%	111%
EastGroup Properties	Jackson	MS	64.56	21.54	41.85	200%	-49%	54%
Digital Realty Trust	San Francisco	CA	58.17	26.33	38.37	121%	-31%	52%
Dupont Fabros Technology	Washington	DC	26.19	5.34	19.60	390%	-73%	34%
Monmouth Real Estate Investment	Freehold	NJ	10.20	5.09	8.10	100%	-37%	26%
BioMed Realty Trust	San Diego	CA	21.66	6.98	23.17	210%	-70%	-7%
DCT Industrial Trust	Denver	CO	8.13	2.64	9.31	208%	-72%	-13%
Lexington Realty Trust	New York	NY	11.17	1.99	12.88	460%	-85%	-13%
Alexandria Real Estate Equities	Pasadena	CA	77.36	32.83	101.67	136%	-68%	-24%
Prologis	San Francisco	CA	40.90	9.72	57.56	321%	-83%	-29%
Corenergy Infrastructure Trust	Kansas City	MO	7.80	5.24	12.25	49%	-57%	-36%
First Industrial Realty Trust	Chicago	IL	19.08	2.51	34.60	660%	-93%	-45%
Average % Change all 12 Industrial REITs						257%	-63%	9%
Office
Highwoods Properties	Raleigh	NC	41.82	16.72	29.38	150%	-43%	42%
Boston Properties	Boston	MA	117.38	31.73	91.81	270%	-65%	28%
SL Green Realty	New York	NY	108.34	8.69	93.46	1147%	-91%	16%
Kilroy Realty	Los Angeles	CA	61.94	15.52	54.96	299%	-72%	13%
Corporate Office Properties Trust	Columbia	MD	27.70	21.72	31.50	28%	-31%	-12%
CommonWealth REIT	Newton	MA	26.30	10.88	30.92	142%	-65%	-15%
Franklin Street Properties	Wakefield	MA	12.58	10.80	14.80	16%	-27%	-15%
First Potomac Realty Trust	Bethesda	MD	13.13	6.46	17.29	103%	-63%	-24%
Mack-Cali Realty	Edison	NJ	21.13	14.63	34.00	44%	-57%	-38%
Parkway Properties	Orlando	FL	20.60	9.11	36.98	126%	-75%	-44%
Average % Change all 10 Office REITs						233%	-59%	-5%
Residential
Sun Communities	Southfield	MI	50.05	7.71	21.07	549%	-63%	138%
Associated Estates Realty	Richmond Heights	OH	18.12	5.35	9.44	239%	-43%	92%
Equity LifeStyle Properties	Chicago	IL	43.77	15.29	22.84	186%	-33%	92%
Essex Property Trust	Palo Alto	CA	184.78	55.19	97.49	235%	-43%	90%
Equity Residential	Chicago	IL	63.19	17.09	36.47	270%	-53%	73%
Mid-America Apartment Communities	Memphis	TN	72.55	23.71	42.75	206%	-45%	70%
Post Properties	Atlanta	GA	53.89	10.15	35.12	431%	-71%	53%
Avalonbay Communities	Arlington	VA	142.03	42.14	94.14	237%	-55%	51%
BRE Properties	San Francisco	CA	61.00	18.28	40.53	234%	-55%	51%
Camden Property Trust	Houston	TX	70.62	17.64	48.15	300%	-63%	47%
UDR Inc	Highlands Ranch	CO	28.47	7.23	19.85	294%	-64%	43%
American Campus Communities	Austin	TX	38.40	15.61	26.85	146%	-42%	43%
Home Properties	Rochester	NY	63.50	25.36	44.85	150%	-43%	42%
Apartment Investment & Mgt	Denver	CO	32.29	4.94	29.11	554%	-83%	11%
Senior Housing Properties Trust	Newton	MA	24.02	11.39	22.68	111%	-50%	6%
Education Realty Trust	Memphis	TN	10.65	2.86	11.24	272%	-75%	-5%
UMH Properties	Freehold	NJ	10.24	5.25	11.77	95%	-55%	-13%
Average % Change all 17 Residential REITs						265%	-55%	52%
Retail
Simon Property Group	Indianapolis	IN	166.13	26.19	86.86	534%	-70%	91%
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers	Greensboro	NC	34.78	13.20	18.86	164%	-30%	84%
Retail Opportunity Investments	San Diego	CA	15.71	9.50	9.17	65%	4%	71%
Realty Income	Escondido	CA	44.23	15.03	27.02	194%	-44%	64%
National Retail Properties	Orlando	FL	36.74	12.96	23.38	183%	-45%	57%
Taubman Centers	Bloomfield Hills	MI	76.24	13.56	49.19	462%	-72%	55%
Federal Realty Investment Trust	Rockville	MD	121.38	39.90	82.15	204%	-51%	48%
Urstadt Biddle Properties	Greenwich	CT	20.62	10.37	15.50	99%	-33%	33%
Acadia Realty Trust	White Plains	NY	28.26	8.90	25.61	218%	-65%	10%
Weingarten Realty Investors	Houston	TX	32.80	8.43	31.44	289%	-73%	4%
Equity One	North Miami Beach	FL	23.66	9.74	23.03	143%	-58%	3%
Agree Realty	Farmington Hills	MI	30.52	10.50	30.10	191%	-65%	1%
Macerich	Santa Monica	CA	66.25	6.79	67.32	875%	-90%	-2%
Saul Centers	Bethesda	MD	48.94	20.44	53.43	139%	-62%	-8%
Regency Centers	Jacksonville	FL	54.87	22.02	64.49	149%	-66%	-15%
CBL & Associates Properties	Chattanooga	TN	19.00	2.09	23.91	809%	-91%	-21%
Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust	Farmington Hills	MI	16.79	3.88	21.37	333%	-82%	-21%
Glimcher Realty Trust	Columbus	OH	10.88	1.08	14.29	907%	-92%	-24%
Inland Real Estate	Oak Brook	IL	10.59	6.12	14.16	73%	-57%	-25%
Getty Realty	Jericho	NY	19.03	14.30	26.68	33%	-46%	-29%
Pennsylvania REIT	Philadelphia	PA	18.83	2.47	29.68	662%	-92%	-37%
Kimco Realty	New Hyde Park	NY	22.87	7.01	36.40	226%	-81%	-37%
Cedar Realty Trust	Port Washington	NY	6.27	3.32	10.23	89%	-68%	-39%
General Growth Properties	Chicago	IL	23.62	0.33	41.18	7058%	-99%	-43%
DDR Corp	Beachwood	OH	17.60	1.52	38.29	1058%	-96%	-54%
Kite Realty Group Trust	Indianapolis	IN	6.38	2.93	15.27	118%	-81%	-58%
Average % Change all 26 Retail REITs						588%	-66%	4%
Timberlands
Rayonier	Jacksonville	FL	35.49	11.63	23.50	205%	-51%	51%
Weyerhaeuser	Federal Way	WA	33.22	7.11	27.08	367%	-74%	23%
Plum Creek Timber	Seattle	WA	44.87	24.02	46.04	87%	-48%	-3%
Average % Change all 3 Timberlands REITs						220%	-57%	24%
Mortgage Investments
Two Harbors Investment	Minnetonka	MN	10.23	8.77	8.38	17%	5%	22%
American Capital Agency	Bethesda	MD	22.75	14.73	19.35	54%	-24%	18%
Capstead Mortgage Corp	Dallas	TX	12.90	9.49	13.19	36%	-28%	-2%
Dynex Capital	Glen Allen	VA	8.43	6.90	8.87	22%	-22%	-5%
New York Mortgage Trust	New York	NY	7.64	2.22	8.60	244%	-74%	-11%
MFA Financial	New York	NY	8.08	5.32	9.25	52%	-42%	-13%
Hatteras Financial	Winston Salem	NC	19.41	22.10	24.68	-12%	-10%	-21%
Anworth Mortgage Asset	Santa Monica	CA	5.10	5.54	8.26	-8%	-33%	-38%
Annaly Capital Management	New York	NY	11.06	12.88	18.18	-14%	-29%	-39%
Resource Capital Corp	New York	NY	5.60	2.07	9.31	171%	-78%	-40%
Redwood Trust	Mill Valley	CA	19.83	12.45	34.24	59%	-64%	-42%
ARMOUR Residential REIT	Vero Beach	FL	4.32	9.53	9.05	-55%	5%	-52%
Arbor Realty Trust	Uniondale	NY	6.95	0.65	16.11	969%	-96%	-57%
Chimera Investment Corp	New York	NY	3.14	2.50	17.88	26%	-86%	-82%
Blackstone Mortgage Trust	New York	NY	28.87	10.10	306.50	186%	-97%	-91%
Average % Change all 15 Mortgage Investment REITs						116%	-45%	-30%
Self Storage
Extra Space Storage	Salt Lake City	UT	53.14	5.18	14.29	926%	-64%	272%
Public Storage	Glendale	CA	170.87	48.83	73.41	250%	-33%	133%
CubeSmart	Malvern	PA	18.49	1.50	9.16	1133%	-84%	102%
Sovran Self Storage	Williamsville	NY	77.48	17.10	40.10	353%	-57%	93%
Average % Change all 4 Self Storage REITs						665%	-60%	150%
Correctional Facilities
The GEO Group	Boca Raton	FL	35.67	11.75	28.00	204%	-58%	27%
Corrections Corp America	Nashville	TN	33.06	9.82	29.51	237%	-67%	12%
Average % Change all 2 Correctional Facilities REITs						220%	-62%	20%
Overall Average % Change all 130 REITs						395%	-61%	15%

Next up.....All new US REITs since the late 2008 Financial Meltdown.....Wow, there are so many of them.  And think what would happen if the US Government decided to move some of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's home mortgages to the private sector.  With their tax-free status, it only would make sense that the number of US REITs and the total assets held by US REITs would both grow like weeds.