Identifying Primary Drivers of Real Estate Investment Trust Performance

This paper examines the multi-faceted and complex impact macroeconomic and real estate indicators have on real estate investment trust (REIT) performance, assessing its primary drivers. Based on both single and multi-variate regression analyses used in this paper, inflation, housing prices, and consumer confidence contribute the most to REIT price indexes. REIT performance appears to be most significantly impacted positively by consumer confidence, housing prices, and occupancy rates, whereas the Federal Funds Rate and mortgage rates contribute significant negative influence. Moreover, this paper illustrates the changing significance and directions caused by the global pandemic, reversing the direction of inflation, Federal Funds Rates, mortgage rates, and consumer confidence.