As if offices weren’t enough of a drag for real estate investors in recent years, real estate investment trusts (REITs) might have several new problems on their hands, or lands, rather.

In March, we reflected on the underperformance of REITs since the pandemic, which gained attention thanks to their strength during April’s market volatility. Spurring greater interest in the sector, asset juggernaut Blackstone indicated that real estate had “bottomed.” Investors perked up.

However, before rushing to buy a REIT ETF like the Vanguard Real Estate ETFVNQ

, the largest fund of its kind, investors should be wary of risks; even in the most diversified of products.

New risks in the mix:VNQ

is the runaway leader in the REIT ETF space, with more than $33.1B in assets under management — more than the next 13 REIT ETFs combined. But investors searching for a real estate rebound might be disappointed here, as over a third of the fund could be hampered by generational trends:

• Retail REITs (13.1%), the largest slice ofVNQ
  , are navigating a wave of big-store bankruptcies, tariff troubles, and the ongoing shift towards e-commerce convenience.
• Healthcare REITs (13.1%) are under mounting regulatory pressure, creating uncertainty around future returns.
• Data center REITs (9.3%) are cooling as concerns rise over slower demand and unleased space.

Putting Down Roots

AlthoughVNQ

is diversified through its exposure to stronger-performing telecom tower REITs (12.3%), industrial REITs (9.8%), and multi-family residential REITs (8.8%), it remains to be seen whether those components can make up for wider worries about aforementioned fields. To that extent, investors might seek real estate exposure in other ways.

• Investors seeking greater diversification might look at sector-specific REIT ETFs, like the JPMorgan Realty Income ETFJPRE
  or the iShares Residential and Multisector Real Estate ETFREZ
  .
• Alternatively, investors could research and build their own collection of REITs using resources like Nareit, optimizing for stronger fundamentals and cash flow.

Seeking greener pastures: The current jitters about retail, healthcare, and data center REITs could be FUD, offering investors opportunities to buy the dip and capitalize on hefty dividend payments. But those looking for more stable plays might consider diversifying their real estate holdings with more funds or individual REITs. We’ll keep scanning for compelling opportunities as the market evolves.